Undisclosed Desires
by JazzBox
Summary: A life of riches, Naminé and Roxas has all they could ever ask for. Meeting each other in unlikely circumstances, will they see the fine line between romance and friendship before it's too late? Or have they already crossed it? -Roxas&Naminé-
1. The End of Summer

**Chapter One: The End of Summer**

**Summary:** _Living the life of glamour and riches, Naminé has all she could ever ask for. Meeting Roxas in the most unlikely of circumstances, will Naminé see the fine line between romance and friendship before it's too late? Or has she already crossed it?_

**Author's Note: **Here is **_Undisclosed Desires_**, my super new fanfic. Just something you should all note before reading: Roxas, Naminé and the rest of the cast I will be introducing range from ages 17-18. This is yet another high school story with slightly OOC characters as usual, so I hope you can still enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own or am affiliated to the Kingdom Hearts series.

* * *

Mornings like these were rare, or so Naminé insisted upon. It was never something that she—or most for that matter would ever like to speak about.

Shivering slightly, she was awoken by the shudder of her cell phone on the glass bedside table. Moaning, her hand searched blindly as she reached for the phone to turn it off. Whoever was trying to reach her will just have to call back she concluded silently.

Turning so that her face was not buried into the sweet-smelling pillow, the black silk sheets and lavender scent felt so unfamiliar. This surely was not her room and the throbbing headache was only making it worse.

Shifting, she looked over to her right so she could see the companion she had spent the night with. A beautiful boy, no older than she was, slept soundly on his stomach-side and because of the movement she made with the sheets she could see his bare back, his skin smooth and a wonderful shade of tan. Naminé had an urge to run her hand through his disheveled blonde hair, but she didn't want to stir him up.

Grumbling she got off the bed and searched for any traces of her clothing. The first thing on her mind though was her purse. Locating her purse, her hand sought out her small container of aspirin beneath the rest of the items within. From experience, Naminé learned to keep some in her purse at all times just in case mornings like these occurred. Finding the aspirin, she went for the mini-fridge underneath the large wide-screen TV displayed in front of the king-sized bed. Taking one of the water bottles, Naminé swallowed more aspirin in her mouth than she should have, but anything was worth it just so she could get rid of this blaring headache.

Naminé wanted a shower. Quietly Naminé snuck over to the bathroom where she grabbed a towel, locked the door and entered the shower.

Turning on the shower, her skin began to relax under the heat of the water. She hated the disapproving stares or teasing grins she got whenever she left a boy's apartment or hotel room early in the morning in a complete mess. They knew exactly what she was up to the night before. _What did they call it again? The walk of shame_, Naminé thought. It wasn't as if Naminé slept with every man she met, it was just one of those rare cases where she would drink too much and one thing would lead to another. Counting these moments in her life, it possibly occurred four to five times at most.

Patting herself dry with a fresh towel, she put on her lacey undergarments and shimmering strapless black dress. As if the attire wasn't evidence enough of what she did the night before, Naminé went back into the room and found one of her pumps on the floor next to her red scarf, but the other piece to the pair was still missing.

"Where is that shoe?" she frowned. They were her favorite pair of red pumps too...

"You're already up?"

Naminé was startled by the velvet voice. Though groggy, he had still managed to remain alluring. It was little regretful that she could not recall the night before seeing as how he was such a handsome boy. Reaching for his phone, he took a quick glance at the time before groaning, "It's not even seven yet…"

Naminé had planned to leave before he had awaken, but now was a little too late.

"Sorry, but I'm in a rush." she looked at her cell phone to see who had called her. _Shit_, she was it a lot of trouble.

He sat up, but the look on his face told her that the alcohol from last night was taking its toll on him as well. His lips formed a thin line, as if trying his best to think despite how much his head ached.

"Do you...want breakfast before you leave? I can order in," he offered with a stunning smile.

If this was his way of seducing her back into bed—which was actually working, especially with his well-toned torso exposed and the rest being covered by the sheets—she had to decline.

"Maybe another time."

"So there'll be _another_ time?" he grinned.

"It's highly doubtful."

"Alright, alright, but can I at least get your name?"

"I doubt we'll find each other in this huge metropolis again. You don't need to act like a gentleman or anything," finding her missing shoe, she slipped it on.

"If you insist." It was fun teasing her.

"Bye." Her lips curved into a quick smile but faded as she turned away from him. He already got what he wanted last night. She didn't owe him anything.

Leaving her coat unbuttoned, Naminé grabbed her purse and made her way out of the hotel suite.

Naminé was not the only one her age that was guilty of having done such deeds. Kids in the modern era seemed to become more daring as the years went on. Teenagers at her school actually did much worse than her; especially with hormones raging and the thrill of defying their stern parents who would have no knowledge of any of it. Whenever Naminé went drinking it would be with friends—fake IDs and all, but she would never go as far as getting drunk unless there was something she wanted to forget…just like last night.

Last night was truly an emergency, but she still regretted sleeping with a guy that probably just took advantage of her no matter how striking he was.

When she had reached the elevators, she attempted to fix her image on the fancy mirror that hung in between. Her hair was still wet, but at least she looked clean. Despite the shower, the hangover was still there. Flipping open her cell phone, she dialed in a number and waited for the receiving end to pick up.

"H-Hello?" a yawn made its way through the speaker. He had never really been a morning person.

"Morning Riku, think you can pick me up?"

Riku had always been there for her since the beginning of middle school. Their parents had been close friends and business associates, so she had spent a lot of time with Riku both in and out of school. He was her best friend and the older brother she never had.

There was a pause which made Naminé impatient, but he answered soon enough, "Fine, but where are you?"

"Umm..." looking around, the intricate flower-themed wallpaper and expensive taste in Victorian styled furniture gave Naminé a sense of familiarity. It seemed the boy from the hotel suite was much more of a catch than she thought, "I think the Bastion Hotel."

Naminé and all her friends were the legacy of the wealthy and privileged in Twilight Town. She was familiar with the designs and first-rate services of this hotel due to her many visits here, whether with friends for a sleepover or upper-class parties or even brunch. Twilight Town was not much of a town, and more like an overpopulated city in this modern age. Still having a rustic European look with brick and cobblestone roads, it was home to some of the most successful people in the world.

Naminé and the majority of her friends lived in Sunset Terrace. Being at the Bastion Hotel—which was located downtown—she knew Riku would take sometime, but it was better than calling a cab or using the train.

"You_ think_?" Riku sound peeved.

"I'm sure! So can you come, _please_?"

"I'm going, I'm going..." she could hear the slight rustle of bed sheets, so she knew he was getting up to say the least. He was such a dedicated person.

"Thanks Riku, I owe you one."

"You owe me a lot of things."

She giggled, "Bye Riku."

"Later."

The elevator dinged, and as the doors opened she went in. Naminé was quite relieved that she had left early. There still wasn't too many people flooding the hotel, but many employees still came in and out of the elevator, so it took quite some time before Naminé actually reached the ground level. As she made it to the lobby, she dialed yet another number on her phone. This time the receiver picked up much quicker.

"Naminé?!" the voice was filled with worry and relief when Naminé had made her call.

"Olette," Naminé couldn't help but smile at her friend's reaction.

"I've been trying to call you all morning, where are you?!"

"Bastion Hotel. It's fine though. Riku's going to pick me up soon."

"As long as you're fine," Olette sighed and continued, "Last night when I saw that you were only chatting with that boy, I thought everything was ok, but when you suddenly disappeared, I panicked."

"I'm sorry, Olette," Naminé apologized, "By the way, how are you doing?"

"Fine," Olette sounded exasperated, "Hayner called me when you had left. He wants to _talk_ things out."

Naminé gave small laugh, "Good luck."

"Thanks."

"Can I ask you one more favor, Olette?"

"Ohh, alright." Olette didn't sound too convinced.

"If my mom calls, tell her I was at your place last night, ok? I don't exactly want to explain the bar and the club."

"Already covered. She called my house even _earlier_ that you did. I lied and said you were still asleep. I owe you one anyways."

"You're awesome, Olette."

"I know, I know."

Walking into the lobby, he still managed to look as attractive as ever even if he was tired. His platinum hair and aquamarine eyes were his most striking features, but his tall and lean figure was what swooned most women over no matter their age. Naminé just smiled as he walked towards her with his hands tucked in his pockets.

"Well, Riku's here. Later, Olette."

"Bye!"

Naminé closed her phone as he stopped in front of her.

"Glad to see you're well," Riku looked rather peeved as she stuffed the phone in her purse.

"I'll apologize, but calling one of my mom's drivers isn't exactly the best idea when I specifically told her I staying over at Olette's."

"I don't get why you have to sneak around behind her back. You really need to try acting like a good little girl for once."

"Eww...don't say it like that. I'm only a year younger than you. So don't treat me like a kid," Naminé couldn't help but stick out her tongue childishly at him.

"Yeah, yeah."

The two headed for the sleek luxurious car in front of the hotel. Opening the door for Naminé like a gentleman, Riku went in after her. He signaled the chauffeur to go, and they were now headed towards the direction of Naminé's home.

Naminé had known that Riku harbored romantic feelings for her since the moment they met in their childhood, but since he had never done or mentioned anything, Naminé figured it faded over the years. She insisted on him that he was her best friend. Naminé could tell him almost anything and they were always there for each other especially since their parents had worked long hours since ever. He was her friend, and she preferred if things stayed that way.

"I hardly saw you this summer, anything new?" Silence was never uncomfortable between the two, but Riku wanted to start a conversation before he began dozing off. Did she really have to call him so early?

"Just going out with Sora or Olette as usual. Everything will be fine when school starts again." In truth she had spent most of her time with Olette and her female friends over the summer. Sora had been busy with summer school and only had time for Naminé and other things during the last month of the summer holidays.

"Ugh, school. I can't believe its next week." While Riku was naturally exceptional at school, the pressure his parents put on him when that time of the year came around was too much to bear at times. Life as a teen is great isn't it?

"I know, eleventh grade, here I come," sarcasm was dripping from Naminé's tone.

"I don't even want to think of senior year." Riku shuddered at the thought.

"You have prom, you'll be fine," Naminé grinned.

"That's something you would tell to a girl," he actually looked offended.

"Well, my stop is here." Naminé could see the large condo coming closer. She could feel her stomach tighten at the sight. Naminé really hated facing her mother; that woman was much too intimidating, "Thanks for the ride, Riku."

"You can make it up by going out to lunch with me, you know?"

Naminé frowned, "Sorry, but my head is still spinning from last night. I can hardly remember anything after I went in the club and bar."

"Tomorrow then?" Riku tried not to sound too desperate.

"I planned lunch with Sora. He's got this special reservation and everything. You'd think he was _proposing_ or something," Naminé laughed. She had been casually dating Sora since the last few months of the tenth grade, but the two weren't quite an official item just yet.

Riku sighed, "Alright, alright. Never mind I said anything."

"Don't be like that Riku," Naminé reached for his hand and held it, "You're my best friend. We can make time later, okay?" she tried to smile for encouragement and it was helping—a little at least.

He smiled back, "Just go already, you know how your mother can get."

Relief washed over Naminé from his response. She never liked letting anyone down. Letting go, they said their goodbyes and Riku's vehicle soon drove off.

The extravagant condo was already bustling with employees and people leaving for work. Naminé was a little glad she still had a week of summer left before the stress would come in. Entering the elevator, Naminé pressed the button for the highest floor, the _penthouse_.

One by one, people got off as the elevator rode higher and higher until she finally reached her destination. Naminé had tried comforting herself with trying to recall what happened the night before. All she could remember was a dazzling pair a cerulean eyes and one too many shots of tequila and fruity cocktails.

Naminé could feel herself holding her breath as she twisted the key into the lock and heard a deafening click. The condo she shared with her mother was luxurious, only filled with the finest of possessions. Seeing no one in the foyer or anywhere else, Naminé coolly headed to the direction of her room until a poised voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Good morning Naminé. How was your stay at Olette's?"

Naminé felt herself tense up. With her back turned towards her mother, Naminé prayed that her mother didn't see what she wore underneath her pristine white coat. The sparkling white frills at the end of the dress peaked underneath her coat.

"It was good," she lied, her voice unexpectedly strong.

Despite not seeing her, Naminé could already picture the sight of her mother: well-dressed, and a pair of reading glasses sitting on her perfect nose as she held a newspaper between her elegant fingers with her icy blue eyes glued to the text, and not once taking a glance at her daughter as she sat comfortably on the plush living room sofa.

The air was tense, the suffocating silence was driving Naminé mad. Taking an experimental step closer to her room, Naminé knew it was still too soon as her mother spoke again.

"The next time you plan on lying to me, be sure to wear something less _obvious_, dearest."

Naminé could feel her face heat up in embarrassment and shame. She could not stand another minute in this room. Rushing to her only escape, Naminé locked the door of her room behind her and threw her purse onto the floor and kicked off her pumps before falling on her bed and burying her face in the silk sheets.

* * *

**A/N: **If you noticed, the Bastion Hotel is actually named after Hollow Bastion (a beta reader of mine didn't actually notice that so I thought I'd point it out). It might be a main setting, but I haven't made any permanent decisions yet. Please remember to review!


	2. Waking Up To The Nightmare

**Chapter Two: Waking up to the Nightmare**

**Summary:** _A life of glamour and riches, Naminé has all she could ever ask for. Meeting Roxas in the most unlikely of circumstances, will Naminé see the fine line between romance and friendship before it's too late? Or has she already crossed it?_

**Author's Note: **First of all, thank you to all the reviewers! On another note, most of you have all ready noticed, but I'll just write it down anyways: The title was taken from Muse's song, "Undisclosed Desires." It's my story's "theme song" you could say and the lyrics will reflect Roxas and Naminé's future relationship in this story. Lastly, yes, this fanfic is loosely (VERY loosely) based off of _Gossip Girl_. Unlike that book/show, _all_ my characters are wealthy. I've only based three character personalities from that book/show: Serena (Naminé), Nate (Riku), and Blair's mother (Naminé's mother). So don't go expecting my Sora to pull a Chuck Bass or Roxas turning into a Dan Humphrey. Haha! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own or am affiliated to the Kingdom Hearts series.

* * *

"You're so lucky that you're officially going out with him!"

Naminé winced slightly at the squeals of joy emitting from Olette. She was rather the _supportive _friend, and that was just putting it mildly.

It was lunch time in St. Aurora Academy, Naminé and Olette had just finished purchasing their meals. It had always consisted of chicken salads and a soda of their choice. The two took a seat in their usual fast food restaurant at their typical table for six. They had always saved this particular table, just for the friends they were anticipating to come. The restaurant had more than enough space just for the student customers that passed everyday. Since they were serving kids with money, the venue felt classier—cleaner really—in comparison to the popular fast food chain restaurants.

"I mean," Olette continued, "Sora may not be the hottest guy in school, but he is the cutest. He's such a charismatic guy!"

"Geez, thanks Olette!" Sora rolled his eyes. He did not like being referred to as _cute_.

The two girls jumped at the voice. Olette flushed into a pretty shade of red as soon as she saw Sora with her boyfriend right beside, both boys carrying a tray full of food.

Wearing his dark brown dress shirt un-tucked and white blazer unbuttoned, Sora still managed to look great despite being messy. It was what Olette had described earlier; Sora was like a wave of sunshine. Full brown locks, and a round boyish face to match, he wasn't the type of boy you would allow to slip through your fingers. His refreshing attitude always caused girls and boys to flock around.

"You shouldn't blush at him, Olette," her boyfriend frowned as he took the seat beside her.

"Sorry Hayner," she gave him the sweetest pair of apologetic eyes.

"I'll forgive you this time, honey."

"Lovey-dovey overdose," Naminé cringed at the sight before her.

"What's wrong with being too lovey-dovey?" Sora gave his signature lopsided grin as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders to bring her closer to him.

"All I'm saying is: _get a room_." She sent an unappreciative frown at the unaware couple who was happily exchanging quick kisses. Naminé did not want to see her friends making out in front of her. Hayner and Olette could sometimes be a little _too_ expressive about their love.

"Aww…don't be so uptight Naminé." She could feel Sora's smile on her cheek.

The day she had lunch with him in their last week of summer, Sora had asked her to be his girlfriend. While Naminé fell a little out of love with him over the summer due to their lack of time spent together, the two were still good friends and she found him attractive so she accepted to be his. It was nice to have a boyfriend who cared rather than just casually dating. The dedication and sense of faithfulness was something she needed every now and then.

"You didn't have to ditch me after class, Hayner."

With his chair being kicked, Hayner and Olette jolted in surprise.

"God Riku, have you no manners?!" Hayner huffed.

"That line up was long, but if you didn't leave so quickly the teacher wouldn't have chosen me to help her clean up and I would have gotten my food sooner," Riku growled as he grabbed a chair from another table to sit with his circle of friends. Everyone just laughed at the light-hearted quarrel.

Unlike Naminé, Sora, and Olette who were juniors, Riku and Hayner were both in the twelfth grade. Naminé just smiled at the sight of her completed group of friends and a boyfriend at her side. It would be great if things never changed, but with two of her friends in graduating year, it was never good to keep her hopes up.

"I'm so full now. Sora, do want the rest of my soda?" Naminé asked.

"Sure," Sora gladly took her drink and gulped it down.

Lunch continued off with lively chatter among students and friends. When lunch was almost over the group headed back to school to prepare for their classes in the afternoon. It had only been a week since the first day back to school and junior and senior year was just as difficult and stressful as they had anticipated, but they still wanted to all make the best of their high school days.

Sora had taken accustom to walking Naminé to her classes which she actually found herself enjoying. The other boys she had dated never really bothered with the theatrics since they confidently believed she would stay with them.

"See you later Naminé," Sora's smiles were always so sweet.

"Later, Sora."

The two exchanged quick pecks on the cheek before Naminé entered her class. It would be fine arts for the next hour, and unlike the more technical subjects she took like math, she actually enjoyed this class. It was less thinking or more spontaneity.

As she and many other students entered the class room, Naminé was intrigued by the fact that their assigned desks were gone and replaced with isles and stools that the surround the newly-installed platform in the middle of the room.

"Glad to see everyone has noticed the changes," their teacher grinned as he entered the classroom with the students, "Class, please take your seats to any isle of your choice so we can begin."

Many waved towards Naminé so that she could take her seat beside them, others would either steal glances at her or just look away as if not to draw attention to themselves. Naminé was fairly used to this odd behavior by now. She had never asked for this, but she was well-known among the school; the air of beauty she carried was enough to draw all the attention one could ask for. Naminé was someone who every boy wanted and the type that every girl silently wanted to be, and with her new boyfriend being Sora, it seemed all eyes were on her now—much to her discomfort.

Choosing the most inviting of crowds, she chose her isle and laid her books onto the floor.

"So for today's class, we'll be having a session on realism. I want the class to improve on their life drawing skills, so today I've invited several drama students to assist us."

Naminé had heard of the sessions from several senior art students from the previous years. Apparently the school was too uptight to hire nude models, saying that you would have to wait for college and university to experience that.

Four students came into the room; the teacher thanked each of them for volunteering their time. The familiarity of one of the students had caused all the blood to drain from Naminé's face. She immediately recognized who he was. What was _he_ doing here?

Her intense stare must have caused him to notice her, because the moment sapphire clashed with cerulean, both froze. It was as if they were caught up in their own world.

They may have been staring rather intently because the teacher had to snap his fingers to get the boy's attention again.

"Roxas, you don't want to fall behind do you? I can get the drama department to choose someone else," the teacher told.

_Roxas...So that was his name_, Naminé noted.

"My apologies, I didn't intend to drift off like that," he responded. Roxas would not be daunted by some girl.

Taking their place on the narrow platform, the students began their work. They were asked to change their poses more frequently than they had anticipated, but many of them had a hard time keeping still.

Naminé could hardly focus on her task. She had not expected this '_Roxas_' to attend her school. St. Aurora Academy was a prestigious school only fit for those who had the money or in rare cases, enough intellect to get a scholarship. Naminé knew he had money, especially if they managed to get a suite in the Bastion Hotel, but she assumed he attended the All-Boys Academy or anywhere that wasn't here. The feeling was unsettling. If he told anyone of the one summer night fiasco, well…Naminé did not want to think about it.

Throughout the session, the two could not help but steal glances and when their eyes met they would look quickly away. It was so frustrating! The flicker of recognition must have caused a stir because many students now were curious as well.

"And that's it for today; you can now leave for your next class." The teacher announced as the bell rung.

Scrambling to pick up her books, Naminé had to catch up with him, but she didn't want to earn unnecessary attention. When you're a taken girl, you didn't exactly want to be accused of flirting (or on a worst case scenario, _cheating_) with boys on the side.

Seeing as how he wasn't in the classroom anymore, she rushed outside only to see him waiting by the doorway.

"You…" her eyes were mixed with confusion at the sight of him.

"And hello to you too," he didn't look to appreciative of her presence, but Naminé knew she felt the same.

"What are you doing in this school?"

"I could ask you the same question."

Naminé was confident that she had an extensive knowledge on who attended this school, but with the large and growing population, it wasn't strange that she wouldn't recognize a few. There was no way she could have missed _him_ though.

Looking at him up and down with eyes like that of a medical examiner, he wore his uniform rather neatly but his hair was another story. Unlike Sora's brunette locks which were strategically gelled, Naminé couldn't make up her mind if his mop of disheveled hair that hung over those brilliant shade of cerulean eyes were blonde, or a really pale shade of brown.

His figure was long and lean, but he didn't tower over her completely like Riku nor did he come off as athletic as Sora. Nonetheless, she could see his toned figure despite the unwrinkled uniform. She had already seen enough of him from that one morning, so it wasn't as if there was anything to hide anymore.

His face looked soft with youth, but those dazzling eyes looked just as annoyed. It was as if he wanted the Naminé's presence to just disappear. He was attractive; Naminé had to admit inwardly, he the type of guy where girls immediately blush at his close presence even if they didn't know who he was. If Sora was like the sun, then this boy was like the moon. Sora was refreshing and bright, but the way Roxas held his composure and the mystery he held around him… Naminé didn't like it one bit. She could not read him as easily as Sora, and somehow this made her anxious.

"So will you tell me your name now?" Roxas asked as politely as he could.

His eyes weren't on hers anymore. It seemed his eyes were taking her image in as well, staring at every curve and eating up every detail. As if he didn't see enough from that one-time event. How disgusting.

"Well _Roxas_, my name is Naminé." She introduced. Naminé found it a little rude that he would not introduce himself first, but she brushed it off. She had heard his name from class, so there wasn't much of a point anymore.

Anyone could sense the strain in their tone.

Roxas exhaled deeply as he ran his hand through his hair. He didn't want to late for his next class because of her, "I would prefer if what _happened_ over the summer is kept only between us."

Naminé could feel her cheeks redden. How dare he make it look like she didn't want the same thing as well? He was making her feel like a fool, "That sounds swell to me."

"Good."

"Good." She made her tone match his to a quo.

With that, the two went off in opposite directs of the hallway even if it meant taking the longer way into their respective classes.

* * *

"Why is he _everywhere_?!" Naminé earned quite a few stares as she rummaged for her books within her locker. School hours were now over and the halls were now bustling with students who were packing to go home. Riku on the other hand was waiting for Naminé by her locker. As her best friend, Riku was obligated to listen to any venting she may need to do.

He could only muster an amused smile lest he wanted to be mauled by the tiny woman.

"I mean, does that guy think he's being _funny_ by stalking me?" she fumed, almost slamming her locker as she closed it.

"I don't even know who you're talking about, Naminé."

Naminé shut her eyes and let out a deep breath. She would not be bothered by that boy.

"I'll tell you in the car."

"Alright, alright," even Riku didn't want to get in her way.

All in all, Naminé couldn't even recall why she was so angry. Both were rather shocked to find out they shared the same sixth period, but when he ended up in her last period as well, Naminé felt like strangling someone. She wanted to avoid him as much as she could, so why did he keep reappearing?

Riku and Naminé had always taken the same car ride home. It was more convenient in comparison to hiring an extra chauffeur. Naminé would have bought herself a car with all the money her parents had, but her mother didn't approve of the idea of Naminé driving because that was what driver's were for.

As Riku got in the car, Naminé just had to ask, "Riku, do you know anyone named, Roxas?"

"The only one I know is Roxas Schaefer. I think he takes twelfth grade law class with Sora and I."

Even though Sora was only a junior just like her, Sora had taken eleventh grade law class over the summer just so that he could take the senior leveled class at junior year and have a spare for his senior year. Sora always seemed to work hard if it meant having fun in the long run, but it also meant Naminé had spent less time with him over the summer holidays.

"What's he like?" Naminé pressed on.

"I don't really know too much about him. He's a junior and only transferred in second semester from last year…well from what Olette's told me. Roxas is the only son and heir to the Schaefer Corporation."

Anyone who paid attention to the current events and the business world would know what the Schaefer Corporation was. The company used to be the former Schaefer Corporation and Hikari Corporation. They had merged a few decades, keeping the husband's family name for the title, ago due to the marriage of the owners. It was a high-profile financial company who had an expanding business all over the world. Naminé was a little shocked a teenage boy like him was the heir to such a grand company. Her father's company, the Bellamont Corporation was actually the competitor to the famed family-run corporation, hence why Naminé had such an extensive knowledge of the business world, being an heiress and all.

Olette the gossiper and social butterfly—it figures she knew about some details on Roxas. Maybe she should question her later too…

"So indulge a curious friend. What's so interesting about Roxas?"

While Naminé began dating the moment she reached her teens, she would never just sleep with just anybody. If someone found out she was off with a random boy—a boy that attended the same school no less—a day before she and Sora were official, Naminé could already imagine the rumors being spread.

"It's nothing."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

As irritated as Naminé was at Roxas' presence, she finally decided it was better to be friends than enemies with the fellow blonde. She didn't like meaningless fights, a trait she acquired after befriending Sora. Yes, she would try to make up for their horrible reunion tomorrow. If she and Roxas were on good terms to say the least, then it would assure her that he would not resort to any form of blackmail in the near future.

As they were both driven home, Naminé and Riku didn't exchange anymore words.

* * *

**A/N: **What did you think? A note on Naminé's life drawing session: my school was actually one of the few privileged schools (even the prestigious art school in my area would not allow this) that could hire a nude model for our senior Fine Arts class. Some schools, like the one I have created for Naminé and the cast, really are too timid to hire nude models for high school students because of the maturity level. I remember my teacher opened a session for students who felt they could not handle the experience by inviting some drama students into our class, so I thought I could incorporate that into my story. Hope you enjoyed, please review!


	3. Colors of War

**Chapter Three: Colors of War**

**Summary:** _A life of glamour and riches, Naminé has all she could ever ask for. Meeting Roxas in the most unlikely of circumstances, will Naminé see the fine line between romance and friendship before it's too late? Or has she already crossed it?_

**Author's Note: **Thanks for the reviews! I updated a day early because I was feeling bored. haha!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own or am affiliated to the Kingdom Hearts series.

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Roxas had always been careful never to drink too much at clubs or bars, much less sleep with a random girl. This was definitely something that would go on his non-existent "_biggest mistakes of my life ever_" list. He couldn't even recall anything from that night other than that mouth watering sweet smell and how soft she felt underneath his touch. Blame it all on impaired judgment.

What he didn't expect was to see that very girl in the school he attended.

His drama teacher was offering extra credit to anyone that was willing to model for the Fine Arts class at the other side of the academy, so why would he not volunteer? He was one of the four students chosen, and he felt quite proud about it.

It was supposed to be a rather normal yet tedious assignment, standing still for several minutes then change positions and stay still again for another several minutes, but he could sense a pair of eyes boring into him as he entered the classroom. His eyes glancing back to the person that noticed him assuming it was probably just another one of the swooning girls around the school that always eyed him; he was rather surprised to see _her_ instead.

After an entire session of modeling for the class, he had planned to wait for her outside of the class. There had to be a plausible explanation as to why it never occurred to either of them that they attended the same school.

When she had caught up to him, all she could muster was a scandalized expression, "You…"

"And hello to you too," Roxas did not want to start trouble, especially being a fairly new student and all. Hopefully she would understand.

"What are you even doing in this school?" bewilderment was all over her face.

"I could ask you the same question."

He was surprised on how much more lovely she looked than he last remembered. Her figure was so _tiny. _She wore her red bow much neater than most, but like most girls her dark brown uniform skirt was hiked up a bit higher than the school enforced, but rather than seeing the creamy white legs he had anticipated they were covered by a pair of white stockings rather than the typical dark colored knee-high socks that matched the uniform.

Her plump pink lips were curved into a disappointed frown. It was clear she didn't want him here and in truth, he didn't want her here either. While some boys may take pride in their female expeditions, Roxas found it disgusting. Having her in this school made things a bit more complicated than he would have expected.

Her fair hair was swept to the right side of her shoulder, framing her heart-shaped face. The girl's eyes reminded him of sapphires but they weren't cold like the gems they resembled, they felt fluid and full of life as they shimmered in the light. If anfything she was gorgeous like a porcelain doll with the skin to match, but then again…

"So will you tell me your name now?" he asked politely while running his hand through his hair. It was a strange habit he picked up from god knows where. Roxas had only wanted her name out of pure curiosity. He didn't want to come off as a sleaze-bag that got a fix out of sleeping with random women who happened to get drunk in the same bar as him.

"Well _Roxas_, my name is Naminé." she was cautious. He could see it in her eyes. Roxas figured she had overheard his name earlier.

He decided to get to the point, "I would prefer if what _happened_ over the summer is kept only between us." It wasn't a choice he was giving, or a deal he was making. Naminé could tell no one, especially if—well, Roxas didn't even want to consider the consequences. She probably had nothing to lose if this leaked out unlike him.

It was cute how her cheeks reddened with embarrassment as he referred back to the incident. She didn't want this to get out as well it seemed, but he couldn't be too sure. "That sounds swell to me."

"Good."

"Good."

Roxas thought that would be that last he saw of her, but he was dead wrong.

* * *

He didn't like this one bit.

Roxas did not like this at all. He thought he would be rid of her until the afternoon seeing as how it was a fresh new day. After yesterday's episode, he wasn't quite prepared to endure her in the mornings as well.

Roxas was at his class before lunch, but there was still forty-five minutes to pass before he could even think about leaving this classroom. The only escape he had all morning away from her was his law class. Why oh why did the gods have to do this to him?

"It isn't my fault we practically have the same schedule," Naminé mumbled from behind him.

How come he never noticed in the first day of school that she was literally sitting behind him in their world history class?

"Oh, just be quiet," he whispered back furiously. Luckily the two didn't sit close enough to the front so that their teacher would notice.

They had only met yesterday, and he was still peeved at her presence. Why did she still continue to speak to him when he clearly wanted to ignore her?

"That's not very nice," despite not being able to see her Roxas could tell she was putting on a rather cute (maybe even sincere?) frown, not that he would fall for it.

History was rather frustrating, especially with the irritating banter exchanging between them. Roxas just wanted to never associate himself with her, but clearly his tactics were not working.

The bell rafng across the air, and despite his relief he immediately stood up, stuffed his books in his bag and power-walked out of the room. Much to his dismay, Naminé caught up but with a bit of exerted effort on her part.

Roxas didn't care if he slowed the traffic in the narrow hallways anymore. When Roxas stopped Naminé did as well, the students had just decided to bypass them despite the obstruction they had now made. As he turned around to face her he kept his voice low only so she could hear his words.

"Look, I don't like you and you don't like me. Can't you just leave me alone?" That one night stand would be a bad stain on him if she ever revealed it to anyone. People from this academy definitely had connections with _that_ school, which made this situation all the more frustrating.

"Sorry, I have trouble doing that when I only want to call it truce." Naminé was stubborn. If she made friends with this boy, despite them doing god knows what over the summer, it would mean there would be less chances of rumors spreading around. She had a policy; keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. Naminé would take any precautions to protect her newly-found relationship with Sora. She just had to be sure Roxas wouldn't spill a word of summer vacation.

"_Truce_? Seriously, you're going to play_ that _game?"

"Why not? I say it's always better to make friends than enemies," there it was. That strange sense of naivety Roxas couldn't quite understand. Naminé was much more upfront than he would have expected.

"I think we've seen too much than to just be _friends_. It's just too…awkward," Roxas couldn't believe he was admitting this.

"I know, but I was just thinking we can just start over and--"

"Naminé!"

Both heads whipped towards the direction of the voice.

"Sora," Naminé spoke his name in an exasperated tone, but now was not the time.

Sora was there beside them almost instantly, his books on one hand and his black messenger bag slung over his shoulder on the other side. He was beaming at the sight of Naminé.

"Hey sweetie," Sora wrapped an arm around Naminé and planted a kiss on her left temple.

Roxas could only grin, "Oh, I see how it is…"

Naminé sent daggers with her blazing sapphire eyes. If he was planning to do something that involved Sora, she would be the first to strike.

"Let's go, Sora," Naminé insisted, tugging on his hand. As much as she wanted to call truce with Roxas, she didn't want Sora to associate himself with her problems.

"Wait, I got to introduce myself," Sora teased as he held his place. Naminé did not like where this was going. "So are you a friend of Naminé's?" he asked with a smile as he held out a hand for Roxas.

"I don't think the word _friend_ is an appropriate term for this situation," Roxas shook his hand awkwardly.

"I like your honesty," Sora grinned, "The name's Sora."

"Roxas." He couldn't help but eye the brunette boy suspiciously.

"You're a new student or something? Never seen you around here before."

"Actually I transferred fairly late last year."

"Then you should come join us for lunch, it's never too late to make new friends, right?"

"I'm not so sure." He felt uneasy with Naminé's eyes boring into him.

"C'mon, it's not like me and my friends bite."

"Alright, if you insist. I don't think my lunch buddies would mind," Sora seemed like a pretty cool guy in Roxas' standards.

"Sora!" Naminé exclaimed. Why was he inviting Roxas of all people?

"Naminé, he's still adjusting to the school. No need to be so hard on him. The guy just probably wants a fresh start," Sora whispered in her ear.

She frowned, Naminé could never argue against her boyfriend's pacifist ideals.

With Naminé silent, Sora never needed words to know he won. The three headed out to the same diner that Olette and Naminé always ordered in.

As Sora ordered his meal, Naminé glared at Roxas.

"You could have said no," Naminé whispered furiously.

"I thought you wanted_ truce_, isn't this a perfect opportunity?" it was pretty fun seeing Naminé squirm.

"If you try to pull something out of your sleeve…" Naminé could feel her anger rising.

"Hey guys, over here!" Olette called out as soon as she spotted them.

Olette and Riku were already seated with Hayner just about to join them. Naminé was still peeved at Sora and Roxas and deliberately stole the seat beside Olette just as Hayner was about to take his seat.

"Hey, you took my chair!"

"I don't care," Naminé snarled.

Hayner just mumbled a string of profanities as he sat across Olette instead. Both Riku and Olette were surprised at Naminé's sour attitude that was until Riku saw who Sora brought along.

"Hey Roxas! I didn't know you knew anyone in the group," Olette chirped.

"Hey Olette," Roxas smiled back. He had met her last year since they had been lab partners in science class. They also shared a few other classes this year.

"And who are you?" Hayner glared. He didn't like the idea of other boys getting to friendly with his girl.

"Hayner, don't be rude. Roxas, you should join us," Olette invited.

"Here's a chair, Roxas," Sora pushed an empty seat towards him.

"Thanks guys."

Naminé's hand only tightened around her fork. Why did everyone seem to like this guy? While she did want to make sure he would never consider blackmailing her, she really didn't want Roxas befriending her friends.

"So how do you know Naminé?" Only Naminé could sense the suspicion from Riku's voice. He must have recalled what Naminé had told him yesterday.

"Oh?" Roxas was a little taken back by Riku's sudden interest in his relation to Naminé. He could only grin, "Me and her? We're _good _friends, right?" if she was going to act childish, then so would he.

Naminé almost choked on her food, "E-excuse me?" What was that implication he was trying to make?

"Good friends? Naminé never told me about you," Sora looked genuinely curious. Naminé was a little grateful on how daft her boyfriend could be.

While her eyes blazed with fury, her lips curved into an innocent smile, "You shouldn't _tease_ Roxas. We only met yesterday."

"Really?" two could play at this game, "I swear we've known each other for_ quite _longer."

Eyes kept flickering back and forth; from Roxas to Naminé, from Naminé to Roxas. The group was quite curious to know just under what circumstances the two met.

Naminé only kicked his leg underneath the table in response, causing him to wince slightly.

"Is something wrong, Roxas?" Olette asked.

Roxas decided to smile this one off. He was definitely going to get back at Naminé, "Nothing's the matter."

"Sorry Sora, must have slipped my mind. Roxas isn't _that _significant," Naminé's words though sweet on the outside, were practically dripping with hostility. Screw truce, this was war!

"O-ok Naminé," Sora decided to just drop the subject, as did the rest of the group.

* * *

"Did you have to act like a complete _bitch_?"

"Did you have to be an inconsiderate _ass_?"

"I can't take this!" Roxas huffed.

Lunch had been over for a while now, and the two were seated together for their business class. Due to maintenance, only half the systems were working and the teacher had paired up the students to share a computer. Some students complained about their chosen partner, much like Naminé and Roxas, but the teacher would not accept the idea of having any students left out.

"Well, you think I can?" Naminé shot back.

The two continued to glare daggers at one another. Some students could have sworn they saw sparks.

Due to the lack of computers the teacher had decided assigned the students to a mock job interview with one another until the school was done with the system adjustments. With their childish bickering, Roxas and Naminé could hardly cooperate to the point that their teacher almost considered allowing them to switch partners.

The bell rang, a signal for their next class. Much to their dismay both shared the same math class as well.

The two were practically racing towards the next class, hoping to get seats _far_ from one another. As fate would have it, it just never seemed possible.

"Hey Naminé, Roxas." Olette was also in their class and had saved seats for the both of them. Ironically enough, the seats were right beside one another. It seemed Olette didn't catch the antagonism between them during lunch.

"Hey Olette," Naminé still managed a smile despite her earlier feud with the boy next to her.

Roxas just gave a look of acknowledgement, too tired from the earlier argument.

Even as their teacher began the lesson, Olette continued a hush conversation with the two blondes.

"I'm planning a party in two weeks. It'll be a neck tie and dress occasion. So look your best," Olette told the two. It seemed Olette wanted to take charge this year for the start of the year school party.

"Your place?" Naminé asked. She had known about this party for quite sometime. Olette was known for throwing extravagant parties, especially being quite the lively hostess. Any party she threw was a hit among the students who only wished to get away from their strict and wealthy lives.

"Of course," Olette grinned. Unlike most students whose parents owned luxurious condos and such, Olette's family was one of the few who owned a mansion close to the out skirts of the residential district, "You better be there too, Roxas." Since he was still new to St. Aurora Academy, a party was a good start when one wanted a better social life.

"I'll try," he didn't want to make any promises.

"Aww…don't be held back because of _her_. You need to live the life too," she insisted.

"Hey!" Naminé did not like the tone that Olette was inferring.

Roxas just laughed at Olette's comment and Naminé's reaction, "I'll do my very best to be there then."

"Good," Olette was pleased that she did her job very well.

Despite Naminé being on the invite list, Roxas felt rather excited for the upcoming party.

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**A/N:** As you can all see, Roxas isn't too happy with Naminé due to his own set of secrets. **I created a blog for my fanfiction** (you can find the link in my profile). So far it has concept art of the uniforms and sketches of all the uploaded chapters to date, but I hope to put up more (ex. FTSs, sercret chapters and such). Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review and **check out the site**! A preview of Chapter 4 will be uploaded there shortly. :)


	4. Stepping on the Cracks

**Chapter Four: Stepping On the Cracks**

**Summary:**_ A life of glamour and riches, Naminé has all she could ever ask for. Meeting Roxas in the most unlikely of circumstances, will Naminé see the fine line between romance and friendship before it's too late? Or has she already crossed it?_

**Author's Note: **I'll be making an Ivy League reference here for all you American readers. Hopefully some of you may catch it. Thank you to all who reviewed!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own or am affiliated to the Kingdom Hearts series.

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It was the last week of September and junior year felt so overbearing. While Olette's big party was only days away, everyone was a wreck from school. Naminé was slowly dozing off; tired from the all-nighter she pulled. Her English essay's draft was due that day and she had almost completely forgotten about it due to the hectic mess that was her life.

"Better wake up, we're almost at school," Riku informed.

"Five more minutes," as she yawned she brought her legs up to her chest to get into a more comfortable position on her seat, "So tired…"

"Yeah, yeah. Tell that to your teachers," Riku nudged Naminé. With no response, Riku had resorted to shaking her arm until she began to glare at him.

"I'm up, I'm up." Naminé groaned, rubbing her eyes in a childish manner. Riku couldn't help but find these odd habits of hers cute.

"Good, because we're here."

Not only did Naminé and Riku go home together, they also arrived to school from the same car. Nobody ever questioned this because most of the students that attended St. Aurora Academy had also been there since their elementary days. Everyone was aware of Naminé and Riku's brother/sister dynamics and they clearly weren't blood related. Sora had his thoughts for Naminé's being too close to another boy, but she insisted that she and Riku were strictly just friends, and he had to agree since he saw little to no romantic feelings for the platinum haired boy on her end. Riku on the other hand was a bit harder to read.

Stepping out of the car, the brisk autumn air brought a little more life into the sleepy Naminé. She shivered from the cold, wanting to get inside as soon as possible.

"Morning Naminé," Sora greeted. He seemed to have arrived at the same time as well.

"Morning Sora," walking up to him, Sora wrapped a comforting arm around her. Oh how she just wanted to drift off into dreamland right here and now.

"Hey Riku," Sora greeted as well.

Riku just gave a nod of acknowledgement before heading inside. He was the type to leave couples be, letting them do their own thing without him, and it was far too cold to stay outdoors.

"Why is it so cold? It's only September," Naminé complained. She should have worn a thicker jacket.

"Let's head inside then and get a hot chocolate. The cafeteria is probably still serving their breakfast menu before school starts," Sora suggested.

That sounded splendid in Naminé's ears. Despite her rough night, today was turning out to be a rather good morning. Head leaning on his shoulder and hand in hand with her boyfriend, the two entered the building. Across the foyer were their grand cafeteria doors. Naminé and Sora soon headed in to purchase their cup of hot chocolate.

Seeing as how the academy was ancient as some students described, the historic building still kept its magnificent oak doors and the numbers indicating each room was engraved in gold plating. While some of the building was newly renovated to maintain a post-modern appearance in order to keep up with the century, there were still some halls that contained the original walls. The school was massive and had more than enough room to accommodate the students that attended.

St. Aurora Academy was one of the three most privileged high schools located around Twilight Town. Along with Radiant Garden All-Girls' School and Sunset Terrace All-Boys' School, the three prestigious academies were known as the _Trinity_ of Twilight Town. While most of the students from all three schools attended the same elementary and sometimes middle school, most would separate come high school. Naminé was lucky to have attended the private co-ed school and meeting all her friends there.

Sora had paid for their drinks and the two found a seat by one of the wooden dining tables that spanned across the cafeteria. While their cafeteria may have looked more inviting in comparison to some of the eateries down the street, students like Naminé just preferred to leave school grounds whenever they could with legitimate reason. Naminé was filled with content as she received her drink. As she was about to take a sip and taste the delicious drink that would slake down her throat and warm her up, someone came to greet the couple.

"Gooood morning," Roxas extended the word _good_, a trace of mockery in his tone.

Naminé choked on her drink, almost scalding herself in the process. She immediately grabbed a tissue from her pocket to clean herself up before anything could stain.

"Are you okay, Naminé?" Sora was worried. She had been so out of it these days.

Displaying a beautiful smile, she assured him, "Fine Sora, just _fine_." She glowered towards Roxas' direction at the last word, "Don't you have anything better to do?"

"Tragically enough, nothing," Roxas had a smile seeping through his words. It was amusing to see Naminé boil with rage.

As the peacemaker, Sora tried to break them apart.

"I think you two need to lay off the sarcasm—it doesn't seem very good for your health."

"Sarcasm? I'm not being sarcastic, you're just misinterpreting the situation," Naminé insisted, "This _guy_ here is the one antagonizing me."

"Me? You're the one who wouldn't leave me alone! I'm just returning the favor."

"Way to make a point!"

"Seriously, you guys have to tell me how you both met." Their hatred for one another had to have stemmed out from something plausible, Sora thought.

Naminé kept her fierce stare at the golden haired boy, but still answered Sora's question, "I told you, he's just an eye sore I met at art class."

Roxas was a little surprised, but it made sense why she kept their original story under the sheets. _Literally_, Roxas couldn't help but add in his thoughts. While relief washed over him, his answer did not seem delayed, "And you were a thorn at my side when the rest of the drama students and I came in."

"You two just need to give each other a chance," Sora sighed. There was no way of getting through to these two.

Naminé didn't want to cause more trouble for her boyfriend and ended the stare down. Even if she was willing to stop fighting for now, that didn't mean she would stop showing animosity. The same had gone for Roxas.

Spotting a hefty teenage boy with a camera, Roxas took this as his queue to leave. He had other friends and he didn't want to waste his breathe on such a stubborn girl anymore.

"My apologies Sora, I'll just see you at law class," he would only act civilized when it came to people who actually showed the same hospitality. While Naminé was trying to act nice the first time, Roxas just did not want to associate himself with her for his own set of reasons.

"Later Roxas," Sora said.

Roxas made his way to the camera boy. Naminé couldn't help but note that he did have other friends outside of her usual circle, but Roxas had been hanging out with her group more frequently due to Olette and Sora's company.

"You're in the same law class?" Somehow this made Naminé worry. While it was one of the two classes she didn't share with Roxas—something she was quite grateful for—it meant he could blurb out whatever he wanted to Sora, which didn't do much to her growing anxiety.

"He's not as horrible as you think, Naminé," Sora tried to reason. Roxas was definitely chattier than Riku, something Sora appreciated since the class hardly contained any familiar eleventh grade faces.

"I just wish you'd stop associating yourself with him," Naminé felt like a selfish child at the moment.

"No need to be so jealous, Naminé. I only have eyes for women," Sora teased.

"What about having eyes only for me?" Naminé pouted, she knew both of them weren't being too serious anymore.

When Naminé had giggled, Sora laughed.

* * *

Not many students took law class. The teacher was known to be uptight, but Sora's parents had insisted on him to take the class. Being heir to a future company meant he had to know the legalities of it. Sora understood why, but he had always thought he could just hire a lawyer since he was only running a grand hotel chain in the future—his parents said otherwise.

He came to class late that day, one too many students had stopped him in the hall just for a greeting that ended up turning into a rather fascinating conversation each time. While the teacher had chastised him, he just shrugged it off. It wasn't like he was late every time.

Sora's usual seat beside Riku had been taken, and the only on left was in the back row. At least Roxas was there.

"Hey," Sora waved.

Roxas just smiled, "That teacher's too high-strung. You weren't that late."

"But I'm still late nonetheless," he was happy to see he had Roxas on his side, but it really wasn't that big of a deal. Sora took his seat beside him.

"You're too nice," Roxas complimented, "I can't see how you can stand that girl."

"You mean my girlfriend?" Sora could already sense it from Roxas' tone that he didn't mean the teacher. Roxas just nodded. "Naminé's the type of girl that doesn't have to speak for you to like her." It was true. Naminé had a talent for drawing people in by just standing there.

The two boys continued their conversation in hush whispers in hopes that their teacher would not notice a thing and continue her lesson on the board.

"Hmph, if only she'd never have to speak. Maybe she'd be more tolerable," Roxas rolled his eyes.

"Naminé's not the type to stir up so easily, maybe you did something wrong?" Sora had said it like a question so he would not make it seem like he had chosen a side, but Roxas' sudden scowl made him think otherwise, "Or maybe not."

"Even if that was the case, shouldn't you choose your girlfriend's side? Despite being a natural peacemaker, usually most would pick the lady's side," Roxas found this rather intriguing about Sora. While he was thankful that Sora had befriended him, it was something that had been nagging Roxas since their first encounter.

"Naminé doesn't really let just anyone in. She may act nice, but she tends to keep her distance. It would be good to see her let others in," Sora smiled, "I could tell you're not really a bad guy anyways." It wasn't just Naminé that Sora tended to speak of this way, Roxas thought. Sora was the type to see into everyone's good side, something that Roxas respected. Sora continued, "Then again, I hear it's a Bellamont thing."

"Naminé's surname is Bellamont?" Roxas was stunned. No wonder she acted like a princess. The Bellamont were old money. They were a well-established financial corporation. Roxas only had knowledge of this because of his family's company was of the same level as the Bellamont's in the business world. "What do you mean letting others in? How long did that take for you?"

"I'm still on the outside," Sora admitted.

"But aren't you her—?"

"I may be her boyfriend, but that doesn't mean she tells me anything. You've seen her with Riku haven't you? To tell you the truth, I'm a little envious," Sora's voice was even lower at the mention of Riku's name.

Riku and Naminé were undeniably close. Even Roxas could see it, "Are they childhood friends or something?"

"Yeah. Kind of hard to compete with that, right?"

Roxas could see the glimmer of jealousy in Sora's eyes. It seemed boys like him could feel like that too.

"So how did you two meet?" Roxas didn't quite understand why he was prying into the details. He felt like some gossiping school girl. Roxas didn't know that much about his new friends, so it was natural to feel curious. It was his excuse and he was sticking to it.

"I moved into Twilight Town at the beginning of high school and we just happened to meet through some friends. She's only been my girlfriend since the last week of summer though."

"R-really?" he didn't expect Naminé and Sora's relationship to be so, well…new.

"Please discontinue your trivial conversations at the back."

Roxas and Sora were startled by the teacher. Both boys flushed immediately, wondering if some of the surrounding students had heard their conversation. When the teacher turned back to continue writing notes on the board, Sora decided to leave a few more words before completely withdrawing their topic.

"If you two do happen to become friends, just don't steal her heart away, okay?" Sora grinned with a joking tone of protectiveness.

Roxas gave a look of disgust, "As if."

* * *

The last bell had rung informing everyone school was over and students now flooded the halls. Sora decided to walk Naminé to Riku's car today, and the two were now at the entrance of the school.

"So, do you want me to pick you up for Olette's party later this week?" Sora asked.

"I'd love that Sora," Naminé smiled, "I know you'll love my dress as much as I do."

"I'm sure I will."

Sora wished he could be the one driving Naminé home, but unlike Riku, Sora had lived on the opposite direction of her home and Naminé insisted early in their relationship it was easier if she continued what she had always done by letting Riku drive her home. Kissing her on the cheek, the two said their goodbyes before parting to go home.

* * *

**A/N: **A boring filler/history lesson on the characters chapter, but I promise it'll be more exciting next chapter with the party and all.

Also, I'd like to ask you guys a question: **_Do you think Naminé/Kairi's eyes are pale blue or a sapphire blue?_** I know I described them as _sapphires_ in this story (and I'm a little worried for when I'll introduce Kairi so I thought I'd ask), but I just replayed the game and I found out the wierdest thing; in the _FMVs_ (you know, the realistic scenes?) their eyes are this palest shade of blue but in the _regular cut-scenes_ their eyes are this vibrant blue—even the boys are like this! So what do you think? Just place your answers of what you think in your review if you would like to share your opinion.

Just so you know, I'm only asking because I'd rather correct myself now before it's too late. Thanks for reading this chapter, please review! Also a preview of chapter 5 will be uploaded into my blog shortly~


	5. Sparks Flying

**Chapter Five: Sparks Flying**

**Summary:** _A life of glamour and riches, Naminé has all she could ever ask for. Meeting Roxas in the most unlikely of circumstances, will Naminé see the fine line between romance and friendship before it's too late? Or has she already crossed it?_

**Author's Note:** Shout outs go to **Handwritten, SorasKey, SaphireWaves, BlackRose2009, Dragonflies87, XStayCloseToMeX, Illusion of Purgatory,** and **Redeeming Endeavor** for reviewing last chapter! Thanks a bunch guys!

A lot of scene switches will take place in this chapter. It sort of reminds me of a movie, humorously enough.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own or am affiliated to the Kingdom Hearts series.

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**

With all the money her family could ever ask for, Naminé never had problems with shopping. Her mother and father were generous with the money they presented to her, but as a young child she was taught the value of money was something she should always bear in mind.

Naminé never spent aimlessly, but still spent enough so that she could keep up with her friends so that she wouldn't make a fool of herself. She always looked fabulous when she was with her friends.

"You're wearing _that_, dear?"

Naminé was almost ready to leave, but the look her mother gave her as she stood by the doorway made Naminé uneasy.

"Yes, I am."

In truth she looked perfect. What she wore was a strapless midnight blue silk dress that hugged her figure came up shortly above her knees. The rhinestones sewn across the bust gradually spread below made it appear as if she was wearing the night sky itself. It complimented both her pale skin and gleaming eyes.

When it came to her mother's opinion though, Naminé knew everything was wrong with her choice.

"Are you planning to go in that mess? Why don't you wear that overly-paid fashion designer's gift that was given to you during the fashion week we attended at Atlantica over the summer?" Her cold words weren't a suggestion, "You must remember Naminé, everywhere you go you're carrying the Bellamont name."

"Yes, mother. I remember," Naminé did not smile, her eyes filled with a tinge of anger, but mostly embarrassment at her mother's harsh criticism.

With that her mother left, strides long and graceful. Naminé's mother maybe beautiful, but her mother was an ice queen. Her mother only seemed to grow colder with each passing day. The only reason for that would be what had happened earlier in summer. Everything had been so perfect in her family until…

Naminé shook her head. Now was not the time to be shedding tears. She wore only mascara, but having it smear was a situation Naminé would not have. Stripping out of her attire, she stepped into her walk in closet to choose her mother's '_suggested'_' dress.

It was a pale golden bubble skirt dress; the color was so close to the shade of her hair. Wearing it, Naminé flushed at how much of her back it revealed. The straps were thick, but matched the style the dress was aiming for and because of the large sparkling ribbon on the front, it complimented her rather small-chest. Overall it made her look cute, but she never liked _cute_. As much as it pained Naminé to admit, she wanted to be more like her mother..._beautiful_.

Changing her dangling earrings into pearl studs and her silver band for the golden ring that had a large and gold and white flower attached, she grabbed her golden-colored peep-toed stilettos from the rows and rows of shoes. Naminé snagged her clutch purse that was laid on top of her dresser and she exited her room.

As she was headed out, her mother spotted her as she crossed the living room to exit the condo.

"See, what did I tell you?" her mother smiled, knowing her choice was always right.

"Sora will be dropping me off later. Goodbye mother," with that she exited her home.

At times like these Naminé would give anything to have her father home, even if it meant she had to forgive him.

* * *

"I thought Naminé would be coming with you," Riku assumed. He and Sora had just arrived at the party, grabbing a couple drinks for themselves at the bar.

Olette had only hired the best of the best for this party. Her parents had given her a hefty amount to spend and even allowed her to host the party at their lavish mansion. Drinks were bought, preparations were made, and Olette had even installed a bar in one of the unused spaces. She knew many of the students had a family like her own; by doing it the European way, they let their children drink before the legal age in hopes that they wouldn't overindulge when they were finally legal. If some of the teens that crashed her party didn't have families that had the same views—much like Naminé's—well that was their own problem now. Guests were slowly coming in, impressed at what she had done and everything was going according to plan.

"I think I'll just wander around," Riku told Sora as he got up from his seat on the stools by the bar.

"I think I'll wait for Naminé here."

"Suit yourself."

Riku soon disappeared within the growing crowd. Sora sighed, just where could Naminé be? Sora had been stuck in traffic trying to pick her up, but due to the long wait Naminé assured him over the phone that she would get a ride herself and he should just enjoy the party and wait for her there. He was getting impatient though. Sora only stared at the bottle of beer in his hand—he didn't want to get drunk so early in the party like some did. With no one keeping him company, he felt a little out of place.

"Hey, I found you!"

Excited by the voice, he got off his seat and turned around. To his dismay, it wasn't Naminé. The one who had called after him was Olette.

* * *

Rewinding back in time to the moment the party began, Roxas felt like a fool. Who in their right mind came to a party so _early_?

It was the first party he had been invited to since he had moved into town, so it was only right to feel a little excited. He had arrived on the dot, but not many people were there yet. Olette was still busy arranging a few things with the employees she hired, so he didn't have many people to talk to. His new friend, Pence, had told him he couldn't make it, and there was no sign of Sora or Riku.

"Hey there handsome," a seductive voice cooed.

Roxas raised a brow. Was someone was trying to hit on him already?

She was an average height with a busty body that was complimented by her strapless dress that revealed far too much of her legs. Some men would have found her alluring, but she just wasn't Roxas' type. Roxas figured she probably attended one of the schools nearby since he had never seen her before in St. Aurora.

"Hey," he greeted back, but he didn't want to encourage her and headed for the bar. It seemed Olette was done going through instructions with the bar tender and left for another room in the house before Roxas could catch up to her.

"You shouldn't leave a lady behind before introducing yourself," she flirtatiously flipped her strawberry blonde hair.

"Sorry, but I'm already taken."

"I didn't see you come with anyone through the doors," she continued to press on.

"She told me she would be late," he continued to lie. Not being too egotistical, Roxas knew he was rather good at lying, but this girl just didn't want to leave.

"Then how about we buy some drinks before she comes," the nameless girl insisted with a wink.

"Sorry, but he's with me."

Roxas was a little startled but composed himself as he turned around to face the owner of the feminine voice. Small and petite, there was something about this girl that reminded Roxas of Naminé despite looking like complete opposites. She had a sassy edge to her unlike the classy Naminé, and her cobalt eyes spoke of her daring nature which contrasted with Naminé's more cautious ones. What had caught Roxas' eye was not her eccentric violet dress that flattered her figure, but her vivid red locks.

"Sorry I'm late sweetie, my parents were holding me up." She closed the distance between Roxas and herself, but they never made contact. It was enough though to cause embarrassment to the other girl in front of her.

"You should watch your man more carefully," with that the strawberry blonde made her leave.

When the girl was out of earshot, Roxas' shoulders seemed to relax, "Thanks."

"Don't worry about it," the red head shown a stunning smile. Roxas wondered if Naminé's own would look like that, that is if she would ever genuinely smile at him.

_Wait, why did I think that_? Roxas mentally slapped himself. He assured himself that it was his mind playing tricks on him due to the similarities Naminé shared with the pretty red haired girl that stood before him.

Roxas ran his hand through his hair, confused but thankful for what had happened, "I swear that woman was willing to follow me all night if you hadn't came. Anything I can get you as payment?" Roxas felt it was only polite since she had_ saved_ him.

"You don't have to owe me anything, but you can tell me where I can find the hostess Olette Avery." The way she spoke was so charming. Roxas had to admit, she was cute.

"I think she went to the room on the right," Roxas pointed out.

"Thanks," as she was about to walk towards that direction, she turned to face Roxas one last time, "And try not to a get into anymore trouble ok, _handsome_?"

Roxas only flushed when she used the same words as the other girl he had met earlier.

* * *

"Hey, I found you!"

"What's up, Olette?" Sora was sure Naminé was the one who greeted him. Inwardly, he sighed in disappointment.

The party was now lively, music blaring, people dancing, and alcohol being drunk. It was a bit overwhelming, but Sora was used to this scene by now. Both Olette and Sora had to speak up in order to converse over the booming noise in the area. Sora couldn't help but notice the girl tagging along with Olette. The vibrant color of her hair stood out from the crowd despite the dimmed lights.

"Sora, I'm looking for Riku. Have you seen him?" Olette asked. It sounded urgent.

"Sorry, but you just missed him. He's probably lost in this mess."

Olette grumbled, "Seriously? And here I was nice enough to find him a girl and he goes wandering off!" Her emerald eyes suddenly sparkled with an idea, and from experience, Sora knew this meant bad news for him, "Sora…" she said with a hint of charm in her voice.

Sora rolled his eyes, "What is it _this_ time?"

"Can you go look for Riku for me and introduce my friend here?" Olette pulled her friend closer to herself and Sora, "Sora this is Kairi. Kairi, this is Sora." The introduction was swift, but effective.

Both Sora and Kairi gave an awkward wave to each other.

"She doesn't know anyone here but me, and I_ really_ want to hook her up with Riku. But I _really_ want to look for Hayner. I haven't seen him since the party started and I miss him," Olette accentuated each of the reallys. Sadly Olette knew Sora's weakness for never turning down favors from his friends.

"But I…I need to still find my girlfriend!" Naminé had yet to text him back on her whereabouts.

"Don't be a meanie Sora," Olette persisted.

Sora's head was now swirling. He didn't know what to do; eyes darting around the room, trying to come up with any excuse until his eyes landed on Olette's friend, Kairi.

Her once assured cobalt eyes were now filled with discomfort. While she may have been elated to be invited to such lavish festivities, Olette spoke the truth: Kairi didn't know anyone here. She had not brought a date because Olette had convinced her that the older platinum haired teen would make her forget any male in existence, but this search for Mr. Perfect was not going as planned.

Kairi cobalt eyes told Sora that she didn't want to be left alone with a stranger, but there was something about Kairi that made him long to be closer.

Because of the silence that hung in the air, Olette took this as her queue to leave.

"Thanks Sora!" With that she pushed her way into the crowd, merging with the sea of fellow teenagers.

"Hey!" Sora exclaimed, a hint of panic in his voice.

When both Kairi and Sora were sure Olette was not planning to ever turn back, the two stared back at each other—faces flushed, blue eyes confused.

"So…" Sora began trying to regain his composure, only to fail miserably. What could have made him suddenly feel so nervous?

Kairi could only smile at his bashfulness, "So?"

* * *

Sora hadn't been kidding about traffic, but at least Naminé was only fashionably late and not _horribly_ late.

Straightening her dress and running her hands through her hair—a habit she wanted to be rid of since it was a trait of Roxas' as well—she knew it was a little useless due to the horde of people that crowded within the now cramped-looking mansion.

She had visited Olette's place countless times before, hence why she was so familiar with where everything was placed. While Naminé and Olette weren't the closest of friends, Olette had hosted the majority of her parties there. The mansion was massive, with a driveway—now filled with luxurious vehicles owned by the students—to match. It was a magnificent estate in comparison to Naminé's home, but due to the location being far from the heart of town, in truth Naminé's condo was likely to be of similar value.

Naminé had texted Sora of her arrival, but he had yet to answer back. Rather than waiting for his reply, Naminé decided to look around the mansion for any of her friends.

Asses getting groped, dancers grinding—Naminé was not drunk enough for this.

Giving up on her search on the main floor for any of the people she associated with, she grabbed an unknown shot from a passing waitress and gulped it down quick.

Naminé immediately recognized it as cranberry vodka, her throat burned from the alcohol. She wanted to be rid of this frustration and decided to head for the bar that Olette had so excitedly described to her the day before the party. It was hard to squeeze through the crowd, going through angry couples and tasteless boys who insisted for her company. The night was still young and guest continued to arrive, even ones not from her school so it wasn't a surprise that Naminé had passed her blushing boyfriend without notice, who was also oblivious to her presence as well as he continued to chat away with the amiable red head.

Ordering an apple martini, it wasn't until her third glass that Naminé decided to leave this wretched place and head to the second floor with a new choice of a cocktail in her hand. People flirted away; sitting or standing by the grand marble staircase, but like the dance floor Naminé managed to find her way through yet again.

She wanted to find a quiet place until one of her friends decided to text her back of their presence.

Naminé would have gone to Olette's room, but knowing Olette and her experience from parties, she had locked her room to avoid any rowdy couples from entering her room. Allowing luck to lead the way, Naminé chose a randomly selected room. Twisting the bronze doorknob, she was shocked to see the one at the other side.

* * *

It was the one night Riku would ever regret that he had such a high tolerance for alcohol. He was disappointed at his futile attempt to find Naminé before Sora would. While Naminé may have texted Riku as well to try and find her, it was difficult to locate her within the mesh of dancing bodies and blaring music.

Here he was sulking away at the balcony in one of the guest room, his only escape from the persistent girls that were scattered throughout the manor.

Riku only groaned as he took another swig of his beer. God he needed something heavier, but he didn't want to take his chances again and be mauled by drunken girls who believed they were in love with him. Why did he have to fall in love with such a daft girl?

* * *

Roxas had taken a bottle of white wine from the bar tender with out his notice. The vodka was a bit of a stretch to pocket, so he just settled with the other drink. After his encounter with the red haired beauty, he took her advice and avoided any suspicious—err… pushy women.

He managed to find an empty lounge area, decorated with red leather couches, all facing the flat screened HD TV that was situated in the opposing side. It was an entertainment room from what Roxas had guessed when he saw the multiple consoles and entertainments players. He wanted to brighten the lights in the dimly-lit room, but it was difficult finding the switch. The room was still much brighter than the floor below, but the orange glow of the room kind of irritated him.

Roxas had wanted to find others and bask in their good humor and presence as a means to wasting away the night. Roxas had planned to bring a date, but his options all seemed to have a busy schedule. He was the faithful type though; Roxas would hang out with his friends and not chase around women without_ her _knowledge. It was regretful with what happened that one summer night, but what was done is done. All he could hope for was never to make the same mistake again.

So when Naminé had unknowingly stumbled across the guest room he was staying in, he could only feel something heavy drop at the pit of his stomach. She was a living reminder of his mistake.

"Can't you find somewhere else to stay? I already claimed this room," Roxas huffed with childlike mannerisms. For some reason he lost his essence of all maturity he once had when it came to her.

Naminé shrugged, "Couples have infested the rest of the living quarters. Sorry, but I'm planning to stay here whether you like it or not."

Roxas was quite shocked. Her attitude was more mellowed out than usual, but the empty glass between her small fingertips and flushed cheeks was more than enough of a hint as to her sudden change in attitude.

Naminé walked over to the love seat Roxas occupied and sat beside him. Due to his newly found habit since he had met her, he moved closer to the edge of the couch and farther away from her. Whenever they were put in a position to sit next to each other at school, they always moved father apart, but tonight Naminé didn't seem to care for trivial things. She eyed the bottle of liquor Roxas had on hand then looked back at him.

"May I have some?"

Roxas was surprised, he never imagined Naminé as a heavy drinker. Then again what else would have enticed what happened that summer night? "Here," he offered passing the bottle towards her.

When Naminé taken the bottle from his hand their fingers had brushed; Roxas felt a quick but noticeable rush surge through him. It was hard to describe, but he could only hope to the gods that she didn't feel that same sensation.

Naminé had to do her best not to let the shock cause her to drop the bottle. She collected herself easily and poured the wine into her empty glass. She took little sips, trying to push that strange feeling to the back of her mind.

Silence spilled a curtain between them, adding to the awkward situation.

* * *

**A/N:** This chapter was rather long, so I think I'll just save the rest for the next chapter. I deliberately made Kairi's hair color more _striking_ because it added more flow to the story rather than saying "_the auburn haired girl_" like what I used to do. She'll seem more _memorable_ this way. Also, I have finally **enabled **anonymous reviewing so I can get a braoader audience. To any anonymous reviewers, please leave your email behind as well because I'd really like to get back to you guys.

Like with all upcoming chapters, chapter 6's teaser can be viewed within my blog. The link can be found in my profile.

Thanks for reading and please review!


	6. Building Triangles and Circles

**Chapter Six: Building Triangles and Circles**

**Summary:** _A life of glamour and riches, Naminé has all she could ever ask for. Meeting Roxas in the most unlikely of circumstances, will Naminé see the fine line between romance and friendship before it's too late? Or has she already crossed it?_

**Author's Note:** I finished writing the entire outline of this story a while ago and it seems like this story will be over 30 chapters by the end of it. It'll be longer than any of my chaptered stories to date and I'm a little shocked that it's going to be so long! I really hope not to rush anything in this story hence why it's going so slow, but I hope none of you will mind. It gets rather romantic after the inevitable break ups and hook ups of certain characters, and I'll leave it at that. Enoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own or am affiliated to the Kingdom Hearts series.

**

* * *

**

Roxas sat awkwardly next to Naminé. He never knew how suffocating the silence could feel when no words were being lashed back at one another. Roxas was actually starting to miss their petty arguments. Anything was better than this. The two had been sitting on the couch soaking up in their own silence, but the earlier situation was still somehow making them anxious but mostly confused.

Naminé only tried to stop any emotion from escaping with the help of the alcohol. Music continued to boom from the bottom floor, but it wasn't enough to erase this feeling. She had long given up her search for Sora and the rest of their friends. To go through that rowdy crowd again would only bring a migraine to Naminé. Hanging out with Roxas though was better than nobody.

"So…" Roxas began. Was it just him, or did everything seem to feel more narrow?

Since Roxas was struggling for words, Naminé decided to help him out a little, "Why are you up here all by your lonesome self?"

He looked good, Naminé thought, but she would never say this out loud. Like most of the male guests he had worn something slightly formal. Roxas had worn a navy blue jacket suit and matching slacks with a pin-striped dress shirt inside sans necktie. He had left his a few of dress shirt's buttons undone to reveal his appealing collar and neck—Roxas looked stylish.

"I couldn't find the others," he admitted dejectedly.

Naminé nodded as if agreeing, "Me neither."

"You know…" Roxas paused but continued, "I was thinking we started off on the wrong foot, want to start over?" It was the words Naminé had been trying to send out to him since the beginning of the year, but with so many interruptions and uncouth exchanges with her, it was hard to bring back the topic.

"I think I agree with your old opinion the more I think about it. Isn't it too hard to be just_ friends_?" Naminé had probably ran this situation through her head so many times already.

"Why would you say that?" Roxas felt a bit down. He didn't understand. What was stopping them from becoming friends? Now that she was more tolerable, everything seemed possible.

"Even though I can hardly remember anything from that night, you saw_ everything_. And we've done stuff that I haven't even done with most of my boyfriends…" Unlike the majority who let out their dark secrets, Naminé didn't feel lighter at all. She only felt worse. Her cheeks flooded with color from the embarrassing confession.

"You mean you and Sora haven't--?" Roxas found it hard to even say the word. When Naminé nodded, Roxas felt a wave of panic rush over him, "You don't mean to say I…I didn't take _it_, did I?"

Naminé felt her face heat up more; "_No!_" she had almost yelled it at the top of her lungs, "No, no, no, no, no, no, _no_! God, you're such a guy! Is that all you ever think about?!"

Roxas' knew his face was as red as hers now, "Well I couldn't remember anything from that night either. Of course I'm only assuming the worst!"

"Well I take the pill, so don't even assume _that_." Naminé was referring to pregnancy, but she didn't even want to mention things like that any further, "And yet again, no, you did _not_ take away my chastity!" Naminé could feel her head spinning from all the blood rushing to her head.

She had lost her virginity at the miserable age of fifteen. Naminé had her first taste of liquor after sneaking out of her house with Olette and Riku to a house party that took place at a senior student's house. She drank too much that one night and woke up the next morning with a blaring head ache and a burning sensation between her legs. The older and unfamiliar boy beside her smelled of alcohol and Naminé just rushed out of the house, grabbed a taxi and cried her heart out as soon as she reached home. It was a horrible experience, loosing it in such a stupid way. Naminé wanted to make those moments special, but sometimes at her worst moments she would try to drink all her problems away and make the same mistake again—whether with a boyfriend or a stranger.

Naminé made a pact with herself that she would never overindulge in drinks again, but with more and more misfortunes dropping themselves on her, and seeing Olette bawling her eyes out that night she made the same mistake again. What was worse was that it just had to be Roxas, a boy currently attending her school.

"If it helps: I couldn't remember _anything_ from that night. I would never do something like on a regular occasion, _ever_. I swear my life on it," Roxas swore. Naminé eyed Roxas suspiciously, but she could see the sincerity in his eyes. "Since it was pretty far back, I don't know why I drank so much that night…" Roxas knew full well why he had, but Naminé knew he wasn't ready to reveal anything and respected that.

"That night," Naminé began with a regretful tone. Roxas' eyes flickered, attention all on her, "My father and mother were having some problems. Mother found out that father had a mistress and worse—that woman was _pregnant_. That day my father had left home, and to add to the mess Olette came to me crying. She and Hayner got into a really bad fight. I don't remember what it was about; she kept slurring her words and insisted we go out to just forget about the whole matter."

"I-I'm sorry," Roxas was not giving her sympathy, but his words were filled with empathy, "My parents didn't separate on similar circumstances, but the divorce was pretty hard on me too."

Naminé was a little surprised at Roxas. She had never really found someone to relate to, and he was the last person she would have ever thought of. It was strangely comforting, but there was something that didn't quite fit, "But isn't the Schaeffer company--?"

"They had left each other on good terms. Work seemed more important and since they hardly saw each other, and my mom and dad just drifted. They're still co-workers and heads of the entire business, so they won't ruin the corporation based on feelings," Roxas explained, "It's been four years, so I think I'm pretty much over it. I just don't like how it's so difficult to spend time with the both of them in the same room. I mean sure there are holidays, but it's still hard."

Naminé could see the love and closeness between Roxas and his family. She couldn't help but envy him. While she may have been close with her father, it was not the same with her mother.

"Sorry," Naminé felt like she was giving condolences.

"It's alright, and I'm sure you'll manage to get through it too," the saying _'time will heal almost anything'_ seemed perfect for this situation. Roxas wanted to change the subject, "So what happened with Olette? She seems so smitten with Hayner when I saw her right after summer."

"They made up. Hayner needed to do a lot of apologizing, but they got back together later that week."

"I see."

"As for us," Naminé said, "we can_ try_ and be friends, but I'm not making any promises. Just make sure to slip none of this to Sora."

"Of course I won't, but you better not tell a soul either!" Roxas looked appalled.

"Why would I?"

"You and Sora…were already together before _that night_ happened, right?" Roxas found it a little funny that they continued to refer it to 'that night' when they didn't even recall each other's presence until the following morning. "Sorry."

"No, we weren't like that yet. But to tell him that I hooked up with a guy the day before we became boyfriend and girlfriend still seems kind of bad to me, doesn't it?" Naminé laughed darkly.

"True, true." Roxas knew that there were some things even guys like Sora won't forgive.

"So it's a truce," Naminé held out her hand as if to confirm the deal.

Both Naminé and Roxas probably would have never done this in a sober state of mind, so they would have to thank the alcohol later.

"Truce," Roxas smiled in agreement as he shook her hand. Naminé couldn't help but smile back.

If Roxas had thought the red headed girl's smile was charming, then Naminé's smile was dazzling. There was something about her smile that made him yearn for her to smile at him like that more often.

When they had shook hands, none of them were letting go, waiting for the other one to do it first. Naminé shouldn't have wanted to make any physical contact with him, especially since that brush of skin earlier had caused such an unwelcoming electrical surge. They were not even shaking hands anymore, but instead holding hands.

Eyes went from their hands to staring back at one another's eyes. Even as they stared back at each other in confusion the touch was like a magnet, compelling them towards each other.

Staring back at those sapphire eyes, Roxas could remember a little bit from that time so many nights ago. The way Naminé had approached the bar where he sat, she already drunk but still buying more drinks for her friends; she had a ridiculous smile on her face, as if she was still recalling a joke from the busy table of friends she had just come from. There was something so captivating about her that night.

The click of the doorknob must have been what caused them to shuffle away from each other. Both embarrassed and faces flushed, they hoped the intruder would just think it was the liquor's doing.

"Riku!" Naminé felt a wave of relief wash over her. Whatever had beckoned her closer to Roxas, she just wanted to forget all about it.

"Naminé," Riku felt elated at the sight of her, but a look of suspicion swept across his face when he saw the companion she was spending her time with. "Roxas?"

"Hey?" Roxas' head was still spinning from the earlier situation.

"Riku, let's go," Naminé staggered from her seat. Roxas would have helped her, if Riku didn't immediately come to her side first.

With Riku walking her out of the room, Naminé gave one last glance at Roxas before making her leave.

Roxas sat there, both overwhelmed and highly confused. Just what_ was_ that?

* * *

Around the same time Roxas and Naminé had been spending some time with each other, another pair was animatedly chatting away.

"…and then, and then after I tripped I just looked at everyone like they were crazy and started laughing," Sora finished off the story.

Sora and Kairi were laughing maniacally by the bar and if no one knew any better, onlookers would have thought they were drunk. While Sora may have taken a couple sips of his beer, he had completely forgotten about the bottle when Kairi came in. Kairi on the other hand hadn't even taken a single drop of the fruity cocktail she ordered after their conversation started rolling off course.

"Oh my gosh Sora, that was stupid. _Really _stupid," Kairi just couldn't stop laughing.

"I know, I know. Even Naminé hasn't heard that story yet," Sora was still trying to catch his breath. His stomach hurt so much.

"You better not," Kairi looked scandalized but was still shivering with laughter, "She'd never look at you the same way again. You don't want that happening with your girlfriend and all."

Sora sighed, "So much for Riku."

"Weren't we supposed to look for him so he could be my date?"

Both Sora and Kairi stared at each other for a long time then suddenly burst into another fit of laughter.

"Oh, if only I was supposed to meet you tonight Sora," though Kairi had a smile across her face, she had really meant it.

"Oh…" Sora didn't know what to say; he had a girlfriend who was still lost somewhere in this colossal home, but deep down he kind of wished he was Kairi's date too.

He had never felt this way, even with Naminé; heart pounding, palms sweaty, incoherent words slipping out of his mouth without a second thought. Sora felt like a kid around Kairi, she was something so different and he hadn't even spent an hour with her yet. It was the good kind of thrill, but at the same time he felt guilty whenever his thoughts drifted back to a certain someone.

Hands slipping into his pockets, he glanced at his phone, shocked to see how many times Naminé had texted him. He must have been too caught up with his conversation with Kairi to even notice the vibrations from his phone.

"Ahh…I have to go," if Sora stayed any longer with Kairi, it would be hard to hold back.

"Aww, so soon? Can we exchange emails? You can call me up if you ever have any girl problems," Kairi insisted.

"As friends?" Sora was already feeling as bad as it is.

"As friends," she assured.

Exchanging phones, they typed down their information before switching back. Sora felt like he would never forget this night.

"Before you leave, want to help me find Riku while you look for your girl?" Kairi suggested.

Though hesitant Sora opened his mouth and was about to answer until he heard someone calling his name. He turned to see Naminé with Riku.

"Well, I found our respective partners," Sora grinned. There was something else pounding against the back of his mind.

"Well then, let's go."

As Sora and Kairi approached Naminé and Riku, Naminé raised a brow in suspicion. Who was this dashing girl that was following her boyfriend? Though she couldn't really say anything back since she was spending some time with Roxas, she couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy.

"Hello Naminé," when Sora stood by her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, she felt a little assured. He turned his attention to Riku, "Riku, this is Kairi and Kairi this is Riku."

"Hello," she smiled at Riku.

"Hey," Riku greeted back out of courtesy.

"She's a friend of Olette's from middle school. Since Olette decided to ditch us for Hayner, I've been digging up some secrets for you, Riku," Sora grinned.

Kairi rolled her eyes, "Yeah right! All night long you just kept going on about your idiocy."

The playful banter caused Naminé to feel uneasy. Just how much did she miss from this?

"Anyways, you two enjoy your night in getting to know each other," Sora ushered Riku towards Kairi before waving them a good night so that he could spend the rest of the evening with his girlfriend.

As Sora made his way through the crowd with Naminé to go back to the bar, he couldn't help but think back to his unspoken answer when Kairi had asked to go around the party with him. If he had gone around with her to look for Riku and Naminé, one thing might have led to another. Even though, Sora would have answered yes.

* * *

**A/N: **A thank you goes out to **SorasKey, SaphireWaves, Illusion of Purgatory, rocketsneakers, Destiny'sHeroine, Redeeming Endeavor, chibixbabe, Apple Bear,** and **XStayCloseToMeX**! Please let the reviews keep coming in you guys. As my policy states: the more reviews, the faster the updates (as you can see I'm a very greedy author xD).

P.S. The preview for the next chapter can be found in my blog as usual. For those new readers, you can find the link in my profile. :)


	7. Messages

**Chapter Seven: Messages**

**Summary:** _A life of glamour and riches, Naminé has all she could ever ask for. Meeting Roxas in the most unlikely of circumstances, will Naminé see the fine line between romance and friendship before it's too late? Or has she already crossed it?_

**Author's Note:** Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad to see it's finally over **50**. Please keep sending them in! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own or am affiliated to the Kingdom Hearts series.

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What happened at the party was now a far-off memory to most. It was now late October; the weather grew colder with every day. Everyone was currently out to lunch and so were Naminé and the rest of her friends.

"Ugh, it's only October, but I'm already dreading winter," Olette complained as she blew her warm breath into her frozen fingers.

They had just entered their usual diner and everyone was still shivering from the frigid weather; their noses and ears pink and their faces pale.

"I didn't know Twilight Town could be so cold," Roxas shivered.

"Why, where did you used to live?" Sora asked, already beginning to unbutton his coat.

"I used to live at Traverse Town. The weather's a bit milder there. It never gets this cold until November."

"Then you'll hate November, that's when the snow starts coming in," Naminé forewarned. She was beginning to warm up, but even though she had worn an extra pair of tights, her legs were still cold.

When Roxas had made eye contact with Naminé the two suddenly looked away. No one had noticed, but their cheeks still flushed. Everyone would regard it as the cold just getting to them, but in reality they just couldn't forget about the party. It was definitely not the alcohol that drew them closer; try as they might to deny it. They hadn't spoken of word of it since.

"Oh yeah, where's Hayner?" Sora asked as they all took their seat.

The line to get their food was tedious, but they still had enough time for lunch and conversation. Whenever the cold hits, there was usually a rise in customers for some reason.

"He had to stay back. Apparently he talked back at a teacher, so he'll just come by later," Olette felt a bit embarrassed as she explained her boyfriend's situation.

"That definitely sounds like Hayner," Riku laughed as he put his drink down.

While Olette and Sora continued to chat animatedly about their day the rest could only listen to keep up. When Naminé had taken a momentary glance at Roxas across the table, she only looked away in embarrassment. Her eyes only took a side glance in his direction because Olette had taken her seat beside him today. With Olette being her chatty self, she didn't want to seem rude by looking away, but to stare and listen at her Naminé was bound to see Roxas in her peripheral vision.

When Roxas noticed Naminé's stares he flushed, but still tried not to let it get to him. Did Naminé really have to sit across him today?

Even though Sora and Olette hadn't noticed, Riku had. While Sora may be Naminé's boyfriend, he didn't notice the little details or gestures Naminé made the way Riku did. Whenever Naminé was embarrassed or nervous, she would always tuck her stray locks behind her ear. Now she was doing it again, and Riku knew she had been stealing glances across the table. When his aquamarine eyes scrutinized Roxas, Riku noticed the faint blush on Roxas' cheeks. They had been inside for a while now, so it definitely wasn't a matter of temperature anymore. Riku had the fight the urge not to glare at the blonde-haired teen.

Since the party, Riku decided to disregard the reason why Roxas and Naminé were alone together in that room that night, but when Naminé had been avidly avoiding Roxas, it had only stirred Riku's suspicion even more. Riku would sometimes offer to walk Naminé to her next class when Sora wasn't there, and even though Naminé had the same classes as Roxas, the two would try to take the longer route when the other one was taking the rational way to class. To top it off, their arguments had become less frequent. Whenever Naminé and Roxas came across each other in the hall usually they held their heads up high, overlook one another—now they were all too aware of the other's presence.

Naminé would tell Riku almost everything, but when Riku had brought up the question before, she denied everything and even changed the subject soon after. Whatever the reason was, Riku certainly disliked Roxas.

"Naminé, do you want me to walk you to class?"

Naminé jolted, her attention flipped to Sora who had asked her the question. She had been so lost in her own thoughts; she hadn't noticed what was happening around her.

"Sorry Sora, but could you repeat that?" Naminé had never felt so guilty in her life.

Sora had a look of concern swept across his face, "You know what Naminé, I'll just walk you to class. You seem really out of it."

Naminé flushed. "Sorry," she apologized again.

"Don't worry about it," Sora gave his lopsided smile.

"Hey guys!" Hayner was still catching his breath. He had ran all the way from school to the diner just so he could have extra time to hang out with his girlfriend.

Olette gave Hayner a stern look, "Hey, why don't you walk me to class anymore?"

"I thought you don't have to do that anymore after the first couple months," Hayner said rather lamely as he took his seat.

"Dude, no…" Roxas shook his head like a disappointed father.

Hayner's cheeks heated up with embarrassment, and turned his face away from the group to hide the blush, "Fine! Olette, do you want _me_ to walk you to class today?"

Olette could only grin back triumphantly, "That would be lovely, Hayner."

Sora couldn't help but whisper to Riku who chuckled in response, "_Whipped._"

"I heard that!" Hayner's face was now as red as a cherry.

The group could only laugh at the squabble that continued on until the end of lunch. Even as the gang continued to laugh away, Naminé couldn't stop thinking of how she was going to face Roxas for the rest of the day, much less the school year.

* * *

Classes continued as usual, and Naminé was grateful for both Sora and Riku who had walked her to the remainder of her classes. She wished it was always like this. Having them beside her eased the tension in its own way. When she was with Sora, he chatted animatedly with Roxas. As for Riku, it was another story, but nonetheless she was thankful for his company. Riku was never the talker when it came to people that were still new the group. Naminé figured he just had a hard time adjusting to change since it had been like this the moment they had met in middle school.

As school ended, students rushed to their lockers as usual, ready to get home. Both Naminé and Sora were packed with homework for the night and as usual they walked together up to the front steps of the school before parting their ways.

"So, were still going out to lunch next week, right?" Naminé's question was more or less a reminder for her forgetful boyfriend.

"Of course, I wouldn't miss it for the world," Sora grinned. He and Naminé had been spending less time together due to school and they wanted to make up for it by making as much plans as possible. Sora held Naminé's gloved hand, his grip still firm but gentle, "See you later Naminé."

"Bye, Sora," whether her cheeks were already red from the cold, or because of Sora's presence, it was hard to tell.

The two exchanged kisses on the cheek before Naminé had left to get into Riku's car. Sora watched the vehicle drive down the corner until it was no longer visible. Making his way to his own chauffeur, his driver had the door opened for the young heir like he did everyday. Sora was just about to enter when he heard the familiar bell-like tune his phone gave when he received a text.

Taking the phone out of his jacket pocket he flipped opened his phone and Sora read the message.

_I've been feeling a little lonely. How are you?_ the text stated.

Sora could only smile when he saw the sender's name; _Kairi_.

* * *

Back in Riku's car, Naminé was sitting in her warm seat enjoying the change from the icy weather. Her eyes were glued to the window, wiping away the fog whenever it reappeared.

"You know, my driver doesn't like it when you do that. You always leave streaks," Riku felt like he was talking to a child.

"Well, tell your driver I've been doing as I always do. I'm sure he'll understand," Naminé told as she wiped again in a circular motion.

Riku chuckled, "Spoiled."

"Haughty."

"Are we seriously going to argue like this?"

"Yes."

He shook his head, "Tell me about Roxas."

"You see him everyday, you know what he's like," there were days like this when Naminé's sapphire eyes seemed drawn to the passing cars, but in reality she was just trying to avoid the inevitable conversation.

"You two have been fighting less," Riku commented.

"That's a good thing right?" what was Riku getting at.

"You tell me."

Naminé scowled, "What's with the twenty questions Riku?"

"I'll stop with the questions when you tell me just what happened between you and Roxas at Olette's party," Riku's stare was as fierce as hers.

"Nothing happened," her attitude was definitely suspicious.

"I highly doubt that."

"Driver, stop the car." Naminé's voice was loud and clear for the driver to hear despite the intercepting wall.

The car pulled over at the side of the street. They were only a few blocks away from Naminé's house, but it was still a far walk and the weather was still cold.

Riku frowned, "Don't be like that, Naminé."

Naminé's glare never faltered, "I'll stop being like this when you drop the subject Riku."

"I'm just concerned."

"Why?" It wasn't like she was a two year old anymore.

"Just tell me this," the serious way he had said it caused Naminé to waver, even if it was slight, "Did you cheat on Sora that night?"

"No," Naminé had always been a terrible liar. She didn't know how her voice came out so strong, but it did. She wasn't really lying though. Nothing happened between Roxas and herself that night. She wanted to convince herself that it was just impaired judgment that had caused her to be so drawn to him. It wasn't like Riku had been asking about what happened over the summer, just what happened at Olette's party, even then, she wasn't with Sora at the time so it could not be considered cheating.

Riku looked her in the eyes searching for any sign of weakness. Naminé couldn't read his expression, and wasn't too sure of what he had seen; whatever the case Riku had decided to drop the subject much to her relief.

"Sora seems to really like you, Naminé. I know you've never cheated on or been promiscuous whenever you had a boyfriend, but don't go around with other guys like that. People will be suspicious," Riku told. He was in his "big brother" mode as Naminé liked to call it.

Naminé frowned, "I would never do that to Sora."

"I know, but I just wanted to remind you where you stand." Riku put a hand on her shoulder, as if trying to see if his message was getting across.

Whenever Naminé was being told what to do, she always felt guilty, even if she had never done anything wrong. She would always take responsibility for her decisions, but people around her always continued to treat her like a child. Naminé didn't know what to make of it.

She didn't know what to make of her current feelings for Roxas either. It was still annoyance but it was now mixed with something she could not quite describe. She had been trying to shake it off, but the feeling always came back as soon as she saw him or any mention of Roxas was made. It was irritating and strangely addictive at the same time. Naminé just wanted to forget all about Roxas at the moment, but having Riku bring him up only made her feel worse.

Naminé cared for Sora, and she knew it was mutual. She would do nothing to ruin it.

"We're here," Riku snapped her out of her thoughts. They were already at her building. Riku gave one last look of concern, "Just remember what I said."

"Don't worry, I can't forget." Naminé wasn't sure how to reassure him, but nonetheless they said their goodbye and she entered the building, Riku's car driving into the distance.

As usual, she pressed the button by the elevator, waiting to go to the penthouse she shared with her mother. While her family had maids to clean up every now and again, they were only ever there during her mom's work hours and her school hours so Naminé never really saw them on weekdays.

Her mother worked long hours, but even when she wasn't at work she would busy herself in her office at home. She never spent much time with Naminé and the teen was used to it. At the moment, her mother was still at work, so that left Naminé all alone as usual.

Putting her coat away in the closet, she dropped her school bag inside her room and walked over to the dinging table. Her mother had informed the maids to leave their mail and any messages by the dining table long ago. So Naminé went over to check if there was anything for herself. Other than newsletters, some bills and invites to parties that her mother would most likely decline due to her booked schedule, there was one large manila envelope that stuck out from the pile. The mail was meant for her mother, but the sender's name was what caught her interest.

It was from her father.

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**A/N: **Cliffy! Just so you all know, chapter 8 has already been finished, proof-read, and ready for uploading. So unless you guys don't want to see what happens next, review, review,** review**! :D

You can view the sneak preview of chapter 8 in my blog. The link can be found in my profile like always.


	8. Shimmers and Sparkles

**Chapter Eight: Shimmers and Sparkles**

**Summary:** _A life of glamour and riches, Naminé has all she could ever ask for. Meeting Roxas in the most unlikely of circumstances, will Naminé see the fine line between romance and friendship before it's too late? Or has she already crossed it?_

**Author's Note: **Thanks for the reviews!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own or am affiliated to the Kingdom Hearts series.

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"So what would you like to order today?" the cashier was polite, but Naminé knew he always sucked up to the wealthy teens that would parade in this café.

"I'll have your special and some iced tea," Riku told the cashier.

Naminé contemplated a bit long that Riku until she finally settled for something, "Maybe I'll just have the vegetarian pizza for today, and make that two iced teas." She couldn't help but make a gesture of "two" with her fingers.

"That sums up to twenty-six munny. We'll be with you soon," the cashier smiled as Riku paid with cash for the both of them.

The _Usual Spot_ was a rather trendy contemporary restaurant/café with ridiculously high-prices that was situated on the upper floors of an upper-class department store in the shopping district of Twilight Town. It was usually teenagers that came in, but not just any teens. It was wealthy teens from the school Trinity; which not only included St. Aurora students, but also ones from Radiant Garden All-Girls High School and Sunset Terrace All-Boys High School. Many of these teens came here either to spend money on good food (which wasn't likely as delicious as the food was), rest from their full day of shopping, study, or just hang out with their friends in the lounge area. It was very modern, sophisticated and was only filled with a bunch a haughty rich kids as Naminé liked to describe.

Today she was spending lunch with Riku. While the week before she had planned an outing with Sora, he had cancelled on her. Naminé did not get much of an explanation, but nonetheless she told Sora she understood and had asked Riku if he wanted to keep her company for the day which he voluntarily agreed.

Once their orders were called out, Naminé and Riku picked up their tray filled with food and found a nice spot by the wall made out of complete windows that overlooked the town. Shrugging off their jackets, the two decided to dig into their meals.

"Too bad Sora couldn't come," Naminé couldn't help but mope about it. Sora had promised, but if he was truly busy, she would respect that.

"Sora's a good guy, he'll probably make up for it somehow later on," Riku assured.

Naminé smiled, "You're right."

Taking bites of their food, Naminé tried her best to enjoy the afternoon with Riku. He was good company, and she was glad that he made time for her on his busy schedule as a senior student. As they continued to eat and make small talk, Naminé couldn't help but notice someone in her peripheral vision.

This said person had just finished up his food, leaving his plates there for the waiters to come and clean it up. From his signature mop of golden hair, Naminé could already recognize who it was much to her dismay. When said person noticed Naminé as well, he couldn't help but wave.

"Oh look, it's Roxas," Riku pointed out.

Slightly hesitant, Naminé waved back. "Hey Roxas," she greeted as he walked closer to them.

Naminé never really saw Roxas outside of school other than Olette's party, so she couldn't help but examine the clothes he wore; a nice pair of loosely fitted blue jeans and a dark-colored dress shirt. His dark-grey wool coat's buttons were left undone and his white scarf hung loosely around his neck.

Still standing, Roxas greeted the two, "Hello _lovebirds_. Where's Sora?"

While Riku coughed and blushed a cute shade of pink from Roxas' comment, Naminé was a little less fazed but still frowned, "Sora couldn't make it today, so I asked Riku to accompany me."

"That's too bad. Sora and I were talking about weekend plans the other day. He told me he would be hanging out with friends," Roxas told unwittingly.

"Really?" Naminé tried her best not to press her lips into a tighter frown. Hadn't Sora promised that he would save time for her this weekend?

"And why are you here bothering us?" Riku was clearly peeved by Roxas' presence. His change of subject snapped Naminé out of her thoughts. Now she was a little curious too.

Roxas sighed, not noticing the heavy aura Riku was emitting, "Olette was supposed to go around town with me today to look for a gift, but she ditched me last minute when Hayner came by."

"Ouch," Naminé playfully winced, "That girl can practically forget about anyone when it comes to Hayner."

"And vice-versa," Roxas added. The two laughed.

"About that present, who's it for?" Naminé couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, a girl. That's why I needed a girl's advice on things," Roxas admitted.

When Riku was about to say something that could have made Roxas potentially left him and Naminé alone again, Naminé spoke up first.

"Then why don't Riku and I help you?" she suggested without thought. She and Riku would be just walking around without much to do since she knew he didn't like shopping with her—something he didn't bother pointing out until the eighth grade. Helping Roxas out could prove to be a bit more exciting that just staying with the usual.

"Really? That would be nice," Roxas smiled as he took her offer.

With that settled, Riku and Naminé finished up their meals and headed to the lower floors of the building. It wasn't quite a mall. Twilight Town didn't have malls. All stores were just collected all together in the shopping district. High-end department stores, like the one Naminé, Roxas and Riku were in, sometimes held small boutiques—and even restaurants—along with their main stores.

Everything was pristine, even employees looked rather professional wearing black blazers and neckties. The three were already used to these type of stores, being in places like these were considered a normal in their lives including shopping in places like these. As they walked together, Riku followed closely behind Naminé and Roxas were walking side by side.

"So, what kind of gift were you planning to give her?" Naminé asked with a hint of teasing in her voice.

"I'm not sure. Chocolates, flowers, stuffed animals…that's the usual, right?"

Naminé shook her head, "Seriously, is that all you can come up with? If you like her, you should try a little harder than that."

Roxas blushed, "Well…this isn't much of an occasion. I just wanted to get her something."

"Isn't that cute? Roxas wants to get something for his _girlfriend_."

"Ugh…" Roxas could feel his cheeks heating up.

"So does she go to our school?"

Roxas' gaze went anywhere but Naminé, "Can you just drop it?"

"Fine, fine. No more teasing," Naminé had her hands up as if she was surrendering. In truth, Naminé was a little jealous. Not that the fact that Roxas was paying attention to another girl, but the fact that he was doing such sweet gestures for his object of affection. Sora, or any of her past boyfriends had brought her gifts for occasions, but none of it was ever spontaneous. Roxas was such a great guy…it wasn't fair.

"How about you, Riku? What would you buy for the girl you liked?" Roxas asked as he turned towards the taller teen.

Riku thought for a moment, "Jewelry is always the easiest way out, isn't it?"

Roxas sighed, "I thought as much."

Naminé gave an unsure smile, "Well, he's right. Jewelry is the best choice unless you describe her to us."

"It's been a while since I've been with her. Her style has really changed," Roxas noted.

"How so?" Naminé pressed on.

"She's on the rocker-ish side, I guess? She dresses really eccentric sometimes, but still cute," Roxas did his best to describe the girl.

"Aww… you said she dresses _cute_," Naminé giggled.

"Can you stop doing that?!"

Naminé just couldn't help herself. Roxas was much easier to tease than she thought.

"Alright, alright. Let's just find a store already," she ushered the two boys forward so they could go to their intended place.

Walking into the jewelry department of the store, Naminé decided to lead the way when it came time to look for a gift. Everyone was a little glad Olette wasn't around; because if she had been there they all knew she would have sidetracked and bought things for herself rather than for Roxas' girl.

As they searched, Riku decided he would help by searching through the other end and Roxas agreed that he would stay with Naminé.

Everything below the glass surfaces glimmered in the light. Naminé had a hard time searching as she was captivated by the jewels' beauty again and again. Soon enough, a piece had caught her eye. It was a simple pair of sapphire and white gold studs. It was clean and nothing to extravagant. Naminé knew that she loved it.

"How about this one Roxas?" she pointed out.

Roxas peered over her shoulder to see which piece she had chosen, "That would look great on her."

"Well it also depends on her favorite color, so we can't just assume she'd like it because it's shiny," Naminé told.

"No, it's perfect. It'll match her eyes."

Naminé was about to say something but the words couldn't come out. _So this mystery girl had blue eyes? _was the only thing running through her mind. Somehow the way Roxas had spoken about the girl made her blush.

As they continued to admire the earrings, a salesman made their way towards their direction.

"Please do not touch the glass," the man informed, "And do not loiter or else I will have to ask you to leave." The man continued to mumble to himself, something about teenagers scaring away the customers.

Roxas looked peeved at the man's assumption of them. Just because they were teenagers, didn't mean they didn't have purpose in this place, "We are not loitering if we are customers, sir."

The man looked surprised that Roxas had spoken back, even Naminé.

"And unless you want me to call your supervisor and tell him about your lack of service, I say you should get to it help us make this purchase," Roxas smirked.

The man gave a quick nod, fumbling with his keys he opened the case that held the jewelry and took out the one that Naminé had pointed out. Naminé was amazed; she never knew Roxas could be so intimidating if he wanted to. It was funny how the customer was always right.

After making their purchase, the two blondes made their way to find Riku before exiting the boutique.

"Thanks for helping me you guys," Roxas was grateful for their help.

"No, it was worth it to see the salesman bumbling like that," Naminé laughed, "Those salesmen can be so snobby."

Roxas smiled, "Well, I think I'm done for the day. I guess I'll see you guys at Monday."

"Bye," Naminé waved as he walked towards the opposite direction of her and Riku. She was feeling a little tired and decided maybe it was time for her and Riku to go home as well.

* * *

For the remainder of her weekend, Naminé couldn't help but think about Sora and amazingly enough, Roxas. What Roxas had told her that day about Sora's whereabouts made her a little concerned, and the shopping escapade with Roxas made her realize he wasn't as bad as she initially thought.

When it came to the girl he liked he was rather sweet. Sora on the other hand treated everyone equally with both compassion and respect. When it came down to it, she was not very intimate with Sora—she still had a habit of confiding with Riku.

Thoughts like these continued to bother her until school had finally come. With friends to keep her busy, it was easier to stop thinking about matters like that.

It was now lunch for the students of St. Aurora Academy, and while Roxas and Naminé shared similar classes, their lockers were far apart so Naminé had some peace before meeting with her friends. As she emptied her bag and filled it with books for the afternoon, she shut her locker, took her coat and exited the school. Naminé headed for the diner where she would find Olette, Hayner and Riku reserving a table for their friends.

Along the way, she saw Sora outside the diner despite the chilly weather. He looked like he was chatting with no one until she saw the phone clutched in his other hand. She had never seen him smile like that before; eyes gleaming, a laugh so pure and genuine. As she approached him she waved. He looked surprised at her presence and ended his conversation before Naminé could hear any of it and greeted her.

"Hey Naminé," he smiled, cheeks and nose pink from the weather.

"Hey Sora," she went up and hugged him, but he didn't quite return it and she let go, "Who was that?"

"Umm…you know. Family and stuff."

Naminé didn't know what to make of it, "Oh…alright."

Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he led her into the diner where the two ordered their food and joined their friends.

"So," Olette began as everyone settled in their usual seats, "Our English professor is giving us our group projects to work on. It's so hard to work with someone you don't know."

"Better than someone you dislike," Naminé sighed as she took a spoonful of yogurt.

"Why, whose your partner?" Sora asked.

"Me," Roxas answered for her.

Naminé, Roxas and Olette all shared the same first period, which was in fact English class. The teacher had chosen the pairs who would be working together to help build relationships among students. Unfortunately, Roxas and Naminé had been sitting at the wrong place at the wrong time and were miraculously paired up with one another for the project.

"What a terrible Monday…" Roxas complained.

"You make it seem like I'm going to be the burden. I better not be the one doing most of this project, Roxas!" Naminé fumed.

"Now, now you two…" Sora felt like a parent. He didn't quite understand what got the two fighting again.

Naminé and Roxas were on friendly terms now, but all morning long the two had been arguing on which books and topics they could choose. What the teacher didn't know was that an open topic on several books would have caused more of burden than ease to some students, namely Roxas and Naminé. While Roxas argued that shorter novellas were better, Naminé figured that those books had more symbolisms that were more difficult to interpret in comparison to the longer novels. The two had been at each other's throats since.

"On a lighter topic…" it was now Olette who was trying to change the subject.

Lunch was soon over and the rest of the day passed with ease. On the way home, Roxas had left the last class with Naminé.

"So about this project…" Roxas began.

Naminé took out the two novels of their choice from her bag, "Here, you read the book you chose and I'll read the book I chose. Make some notes and we can just share them tomorrow."

"That's going to be a little hard since the teacher won't give us time to work on it during class," Roxas reminded.

Both Naminé and Roxas realized the problem and thought for a moment.

"We could…go to library after school?" Naminé suggested.

"Ugh…to dusty and the silence irritates me," Roxas told.

Naminé giggled, "The silence is eerie, isn't it?"

The two laughed. It was like Saturday all over again. The best way to describe the feeling was _nice_.

"I suggest one of our houses," Roxas proposed, "namely yours since we can't go to my place. My mom is renovating the place, but they should be done soon."

"Oh, alright then," there wasn't much choices left, were there?

"Do you want to use my chauffeur? I noticed Riku always gives you a ride home, so how about we use my car for tomorrow?"

"That would be nice," Naminé smiled, "I'll just tell Riku."

"Then it's settled," Roxas smiled back, "See you tomorrow."

Naminé waved him goodbye, "Later."

As she walked towards Riku's car, and Roxas to his own, Naminé recalled the day's events. Roxas had been more welcoming the last few days and she didn't know why, but she liked his smile.

* * *

**A/N:** The restaurant I featured here (that I so cleverly called the _Usual Spot_ xD) is based off of this trendy but ridiculously high-priced cafe I tried once with some friends called, _Aroma _and a high-class restaurant I went to with my father and brother that was situated on the top floor of a department store. They were nice experiences (but way too expensive) so I thought I'd put it somewhere in my story. :)

You guys know the drill, but for you new readers: a preview of chapter 10 can be read in my fanfiction blog. You can find the link in my profile.

**Please review!**


	9. Questions Existing

**Chapter Nine: Questions Existing**

**Summary:** _A life of riches, Naminé and Roxas has all they could ever ask for. Meeting each other in unlikely circumstances, will they see the fine line between romance and friendship before it's too late? Or have they already crossed it?_

**Author's Note: **Thanks for the reviews! I decided to tweak the summary a little bit.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own or am affiliated to the Kingdom Hearts series.

* * *

Naminé has just finished her breakfast and since there was still sometime before Riku would reach her building, she decided to go to her room and check one last time to see if anything was wrong with her uniform.

Her white blazer was unwrinkled, dark brown dress shirt ironed and clean, and her red ribbon neat and tidy. Straightening her skirt one last time until she felt pleased with her image, Naminé took a deep breath and headed for the room down the hall.

Hesitating slightly, she made quick knocks on the door before holding her hands in front of her again. Shoulders tucked, head held high, she could only hope she was ready to enter her mother's office.

Since her father had left them, Naminé's mother had taken the liberty of renovating his old office into her own liking. While her father was a business mogul, her mother worked as an editor in chief for a fashion magazine. It may not have been the most popular magazine, it was still top class and enough to pay for all the things she and her daughter, Naminé, would ever want.

"Come in," her voice was melodic and beautiful but could also be as sharp as daggers when she intended it to be.

Naminé twisted the doorknob and entered the office. All was clean, save for the desk itself when papers were beginning to pile up. Her mother was currently on the computer, busy despite her not even being at her workplace yet.

"Good morning," Naminé couldn't help but bow her head slightly as she said the greeting.

"Good morning to you too, Naminé," her mother's eyes were still glued to the computer screen; lips pursed and disappointed at whatever she was doing.

"My partner for an English project will be coming over today, is that alright?" Naminé was always a good child when it came to following her family's house rules (when she was outside of home, it was a different story but even then it wasn't like she was doing drugs). She would always inform either of her parents whenever she was inviting her friends over. Most of the time she came to her father since he was the lenient one, but now that he was gone everything came down to her mother's say.

Her mother took off her reading glasses and set them silently on her mahogany desk before looking at Naminé, "It's alright, but it would be nice if you told me sooner," her mother frowned, "I won't be home today so I'm sure you can manage if you're hungry."

"Yes, I will," Naminé told.

"Now if that's all you have to say, you can leave. I'm rather busy right now." Her mother made a gesture as if she was shooing Naminé away.

As Naminé was about to make her leave she noticed the large manila envelope lying among her mother's stack of papers. The envelope was unopened.

"Mother, aren't you going to open that?" her voice was filled with uncertainty. She didn't know if it was her place to speak about it, but seeing how it had been a week since she last saw it…

"Maybe later," he mother sighed, fingers madly typing away.

Naminé knitted her eyebrows, "But it's from father."

"It doesn't concern you Naminé, now if you'll leave."

She would have said something if her phone wasn't vibrating in her pocket. Angrily, she made her way out of her mother's office and glanced at her phone.

It was Riku.

Naminé knew it was time to get to school. She would have to save this conversation between her mother and herself for later.

* * *

School was over before she knew it; other thoughts swirling through her head. Naminé had remembered Roxas' offer yesterday and decided to go to Riku's car to inform the platinum haired teen of the change.

"Riku, I'll be going home with Roxas today. Sorry I didn't tell you earlier," she told honestly.

Riku's lips formed a straight line, "Did you tell Sora?"

"Sora knows Roxas and I are partners for an English project. I don't really need to tell him anything more than that," Naminé was getting really annoyed at Riku for being so suspicious as of late. He had never been like this for any of her other male friends.

"You sure put a lot of trust in Sora," Riku commented, "If you don't tell him he could get suspicious."

"Sora's not like that, and he's my boyfriend. Of course I trust him," Naminé was beginning to glare at Riku.

Riku shrugged, "You never know."

Naminé couldn't take it anymore, "Bye, Riku."

Riku didn't say anything as she walked away. She was glad for the cold today. It cleared her mind faster as she approached Roxas. She didn't want to come up to him angry and explain Riku's suspicion.

Roxas was leaning against his car waiting for Naminé. He told his chauffeur that he could handle the door himself and that his driver should just relax and get in the vehicle. After much hesitation, his driver sighed and listened to Roxas' orders.

As Naminé came into view, Roxas opened the door for her and smiled, "Ladies first."

"Thanks," she smiled awkwardly and slid inside.

His car seemed far more luxurious than Riku's with the mini-fridge and all. The car smelled clean, but somehow familiar—like she had been here before. Naminé was grateful for the weather because her cheeks were now tinged with color as she began to piece together why the car was so familiar to her.

"So where do you live?" Roxas asked.

"1142 Sunset Avenue."

Roxas repeated the address to his chauffeur and the man began to drive towards that direction. As they reached their destination, Naminé showed Roxas through the entrance and into the elevator. She couldn't help but feel awkward having Roxas in her home with their history together and all.

As they reached the top floor, Naminé took out her keys and immediately went to her door as they exited the elevator. Unlocking the door, she entered and Roxas followed suit.

"Nice place," Roxas admired.

"My mom was the one who decorated the place," Naminé told.

Everything looked so pristine, especially with most of the furniture being white. The foyer was wide enough as is and overlooked the grand living room. There was an island surrounding the outer-half of the kitchen, separating it from the living room and dining room. It was a spacious home being penthouse and all. Roxas could only imagine how vast the bedrooms were down the hall that was to his right.

"Be sure to take off your shoes. My mother doesn't like it when people walk around the place with them on whenever it's winter," Naminé said as she took off her boots.

Roxas did as he was asked, "Umm…where do I put my coat?"

By the left side of the foyer was a coat closet that Naminé showed Roxas to. The two put away their coats and Naminé showed Roxas to the hall.

"Let's study in my room, it'll be easier," she suggested.

"So quick? I didn't know our relationship was going so fast!" Roxas teased.

Naminé's were stained with color, "Grow up, Roxas! The only computer available is at my room. Where else can we work?"

"Aww, I was just kidding Nami," Roxas was trying to hold back a snicker from seeing her angry face.

"And don't call me Nami!" she continued to fume.

As they entered Naminé's room the bickering continued as Roxas sat on Naminé's bed. Due to Roxas being much larger than she was, she gave up quite quickly when she tried pushing him off of her bed.

"This isn't a playground, Roxas!" her temper was beginning to rise again. Here she was tapping her foot, a scowl across her face as she tried to make sense of Roxas.

"But your room is so clean…" Roxas complimented as he ran his hand across the silk sheets of her bed, "Don't you ever feel like you're going to go crazy if you stay here for too long?"

Unlike the contemporary look of the rest of the condo, Naminé's room had a Victorian theme. Elegantly patterned walls, an elaborate bed frame, her table and dressers intricately carved…the only piece in the room that held any reminder of the current era was her flat-screened desktop computer. The most striking feature of the room was hue of everything—or lack of. Everything, down to the drapes and sheets were stark _white_. The only reminders of color were the framed pieces of art that hung along the walls.

"No. And don't even dare make any asylum jokes. I get enough of that from Riku," Naminé frowned.

"I didn't even say anything," Roxas shrugged. He couldn't help but press on about what she had just said, "So Riku visits often?"

"His family and mine are friends, so I see him a lot in family gatherings," Naminé continued, "And he's my best friend, why wouldn't he be welcomed?"

"Does Sora come by often?" A grin stretched across Roxas' lips.

Naminé could feel her cheeks burning, "He hasn't been here yet…actually."

Roxas couldn't help but note how honest she was with him. It was something he admired about her, "Say, why don't we get started on that project?"

"Only if you get off my bed!"

The two soon began their project, and to Naminé's surprise Roxas had been more proficient that she expected. She learned Roxas was an avid reader, but only when it came to _'interesting' _books as he described. As both of them compared notes, Naminé's mind couldn't help but wander.

When Roxas had mentioned Sora, her mind seemed to drift back to what had occurred during lunch earlier that day.

* * *

Lunch was busy as usual. Both Naminé and Olette had come earlier than the boys that day to the diner. Sora soon followed up to join them and put his bag down beside Naminé to save his seat before going to the counter to order his food.

"It's been a while since it was just us," Olette noted as she took a fork full of her salad.

"Yeah, you're right," Naminé agreed. With all the boys hanging around them, there was little space for the two to ever have some girl talk anymore.

From her seat Naminé could see Sora busy chatting with some fellow classmates. Sora had always been popular, hanging out with anyone who was _anyone_. He had his own set of friends, but ever since he became Naminé's boyfriend, he began to join her circle of friends—a very odd obligatory gesture that came with any boyfriend of Naminé's.

This was different though. After Olette's party, Sora seemed to show a little distance every week. At first Naminé figured it was just their studies, but when Sora had begun declining some of their dates, Naminé couldn't help but worry. To add to her uncertainties, sometimes it was hard to reach him through his phone.

"Olette…" the tone that Naminé gave caused Olette to move in a little closer, the brunette's attention was undivided, "Did Hayner ever…distance from you? I think I just need a girl's perspective on things…" she hadn't even told Riku of her suspicions, but seeing as how Olette had more dating experience than her, it only seemed right to seek advice from her instead.

Olette's eyes widened, and then sympathy suddenly etched itself across her emerald eyes, "Why what's been happening between you and Sora?" Her eyes kept flickering between Naminé and Sora who was out of earshot. She wanted to be sure that Sora wouldn't catch any of their conversation.

"I just…I don't know," Naminé felt so confused, "Sora still eats lunch with us and all, so I guess there shouldn't be a problem, but…"

"But…?"

"It's been really hard to keep in touch with him outside of school," Naminé felt like she was just thinking too deeply into the situation. She didn't want to come off as the clingy girlfriend, but it was just none of her past relationships ever turned out like this. While she was attracted and enjoyed Sora's company, she knew she didn't _love_ him. Infatuated; yes, but not quite love. Other boys she dated had only gone out with her for popularity, but Sora was just so sweet. He was so _good_ to her, never pressuring and always patient. Sora was a keeper, and Naminé could see that from the moment she met him.

"So he hasn't been calling you or anything?" Olette looked like she was bracing for the worst, and it only caused Naminé's heart to sink further.

"He calls sometimes, but our conversations are much shorter than they used to be…"

"When he can't make it for a date, does he say he's out with the guys?"

Naminé's eyes lit up, "Yeah, something like that."

"Is he less affectionate compared to when you first started going out?" Olette's eyes quickly glanced at Sora who was still blissfully chatting away.

She felt like she was being quizzed, but nodded nonetheless.

Olette gave a heavy sigh. She reached for Naminé's hand from across the table and held it reassuringly, "I know he may seem like a great guy Naminé, but I think Sora might becheating."

_Cheating._ It was the word Naminé had been trying to avoid the past couple of days. Her stomach twisted the moment Olette had mentioned it.

Naminé shook her head and let go of Olette's hands, "No, Sora would never do that. He's got a heart of gold. He would never. Olette why would you--?"

Olette cut her off before the blonde could finish her sentence, "Have you bothered to check his phone?"

"His phone?" Naminé couldn't seem to register anything anymore.

"This is the twenty-first century, Naminé. The phone has the evidence we need!" Olette's eyes felt like they were piercing right through her.

Naminé's eyes flickered from Olette to Sora's bag. She knew where Sora kept his cell phone. As of late, she had always seen him squeeze it within the smallest pocket of his messenger back.

"I-I could never…" she began, but even if she had wanted to check she wouldn't get the chance. The boys were now making their way over the table.

"Hey girls, sorry were late," Sora apologized for them as he took his seat beside Naminé.

Olette's gaze turned towards Hayner as she tried her best not to act suspicious. If what Naminé had been telling her were true, then nothing would stop her from glaring daggers towards Sora if she made eye contact with the fellow brunette.

They continued lunch, the chatty ones talking away as usual. The moment the boys had taken their seats, Naminé immediately noticed; Sora didn't have his arm around her shoulder today.

* * *

"_Naminé?_ Naminé!"

The boisterous voice caused her to immediately snap out of her thoughts.

"Geez, you just blanked there for a moment," Roxas told as he waved his hand in front of her face.

Naminé blushed with embarrassment, "S-sorry. Could you repeat what you said?"

"As I was saying," Roxas wasn't convinced that he had her full attention, "I'll be taking your notes and I'm going to give you mine."

She felt so flustered. Naminé hadn't noticed how drowned in her thoughts she was, "Oh, alright."

Roxas frowned, "You seem really out of it." She couldn't help but notice the glint of worry in his eyes, "How about we continue this on Thursday? My mom should be almost finished renovating by then, so we can work at my house."

Naminé knew Roxas was right, "That would be good."

Roxas smiled as he saw a little of her old self returning, "Then I guess we'll just see each other tomorrow."

After helping Roxas pack up his notes and showing him out, Naminé was all by herself again. Her thoughts just kept going back to Sora.

* * *

**A/N:** Remember, the follow up chapter's sneak preview can be viewed from my blog later this week. You can find the link in my profile. Please review!


	10. Rising Emotions

**Chapter Ten: Rising Emotions**

**Summary:** _A life of glamour and riches, Naminé has all she could ever ask for. Meeting Roxas in the most unlikely of circumstances, will Naminé see the fine line between romance and friendship before it's too late? Or has she already crossed it?_

**Author's Note: **Thanks for the reviews!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own or am affiliated to the Kingdom Hearts series.

* * *

It was after school Thursday and day two of their project, but Naminé wasn't expecting this.

"This is where you _live_?!" Naminé felt like her eyes were going to pop out of her head. Roxas only flushed in embarrassment.

If Olette's mansion was big, Roxas' was _massive_. The estate looked more than twice the size of Olette's, or any other schoolmates' home that she had ever visited. Roxas' mansion was one of the few houses—mansion actually—in Twilight Town that had its very own private lane in the Residential District. The colors of the lawn were mesmerizing seeing how it was still autumn. Not only was the gardening impressive, the size of the drive way was remarkable with a fountain in the center. Naminé only thought celebrities were so gracious with their money. It was an Spanish inspired home, traditional yet exquisite. Naminé could only imagine what it looked inside.

"My mother can be a little too…_enthusiastic_ when it comes to decorating," Roxas really hated how eccentric his mother could be. Naminé couldn't help but giggle; and she thought her mother was a lover of fine exterior and interior decorating.

As they exited the car, servants came to greet them. Naminé was only further impressed as the maids offered to take their coats.

"I just need to get my laptop from my room," he told Naminé. Roxas beckoned one his maids and she immediately came to him, "Show Naminé to the kitchen. We'll be studying there."

"Yes, young master." She quickly came to Naminé's side, "Follow me, Miss Bellamont."

Naminé blushed from the honorific, "Naminé, will just be fine." She couldn't help but wonder how they knew her last name; Roxas must have informed the household of her visit.

The maid only smiled at Naminé's flustered expression. Leading her to the kitchen area, the maid informed her that she should take a seat on one of the stools by the island until Roxas came.

The kitchen was at least three times the size of hers. Decorated as a fifties-style diner, the black and white checkered tiles looked beautiful. Most of the equipment was a vibrant fire truck red, and the black marble counter top reminded Naminé a little of home. The island that lay in the middle of the kitchen was high and so were the stools; with Naminé's short height her feet dangled from her seat.

Naminé felt so awkward in Roxas' home. She was sure that not many of the students had been here or else she would have heard at least a mention of how grand it was. Everything about this mansion smelled of money. Naminé knew Roxas was rich…but not this _rich_.

"No need to be so stiff. There's no need for so much modesty in this house," Roxas laughed.

Naminé was a bit uneasy with the idea of servants care taking for her every need. There she was on her stool, hands on her lap, back straight as if she was in an exam for proper etiquette.

Setting up his laptop for Naminé, he logged in then attached the charger and plugged the laptop to the nearest outlet. Flipping it over so it could face her, he began to give her a few instructions.

"So just plug in your USB here so you can show me the slide show you've been working on and you can look over the script I made here," he pointed out on the screen, "Now, what would you like to eat?"

Naminé gave him a look of bewilderment, "What?"

"I said: what would you like to eat?" Roxas found it amusing that he was repeating himself.

"I-I don't know? Why are you asking?" he had definitely caught her off guard.

"Well, since you didn't bother to feed me at your house, I was starving. _I_ have more hospitality than that, so I'll just ask again: what would _you_ like to eat?" a smirk was creeping across his face the moment Naminé began stumbling with her words.

"Oh sorry," Naminé flushed, "You don't have to get me anything, really."

"I'm a growing boy Nam, I got to eat at some point. And I really don't mind, just tell me what you want," Roxas insisted as he leaned on the island across from her. If it wasn't for the laptop between them, Naminé would have been a darker shade of red.

"Well…I'm not really craving anything. Just get your chef to do his specialty," Naminé told modestly.

Roxas smirk was now more visible, "Who said anything about a chef?"

"Huh?"

The fact that he had so many talents only stroked his ego further, "I shall dazzle you with my fantastic cooking skills. Prepare to be amazed!"

Naminé couldn't help but feel impressed, "You cook?" During home economics Naminé was a terrible cook but since Olette was her partner, the girl managed to keep their grades in check by covering for Naminé. Anything she managed to get a hold of was burnt or didn't have enough sugar or too much salt. Naminé decided to just keep away from the kitchen after some horrific incidents.

"Yeah, why you think I can't?" he knew he would ease her doubts sooner or later.

"No…" Naminé didn't want it to make it look like she assumed too much, "I just figured that with all these servants you had someone do things like this for you too."

Roxas was already loosening his necktie as she spoke, "I do a couple things myself. The only thing I don't do is clean," he laughed as he stripped off his blazer and laid it on top of an empty stool. The way he had taken off his blazer caused Naminé to avert her gaze. She hadn't expected Roxas to look so _alluring _even though he was just removing his blazer. Then again since coming to his home, Roxas never ceased to amaze her. Roxas never noticed a thing as he went to the well-equipped fridge to pull out some pre-cut chicken breast.

Though Roxas had told her to proof-read his script as he cooked, she couldn't help but steal glances. The way he had rolled up his sleeves to reveal his toned arms only caused her to blush further. Naminé did her best to hide her face behind the laptop without looking to suspicious.

When Roxas had prepared the ingredients, Naminé could already smell the herbs. She was beginning to wonder how the meal would taste after he popped the baking dish into the oven; Roxas washed his hands and returned to the fridge where he took out a pitcher full of orange juice and bottle of white wine.

Roxas let out a soft laugh when he saw that Naminé was eying the wine suspiciously, "Don't worry, this is for the chicken. I don't think my mom would approve of me if I let a friend drink without consent."

"My mom doesn't even let me drink at all, even at home _with_ her supervision," Naminé couldn't help but feel a little envy for the other teens that had more lenient parents.

"Well, I'm not sure I can help with that," Roxas gave an awkward smile of sympathy.

Naminé just smiled back. Even with Roxas' parents giving him his space, he still seemed like a good kid overall. Well, apart from the fact that he drinks at parties.

Pouring her and himself a glass of juice, he put their cups on top of the island before putting away the pitcher. The two continued to converse about their project over their drinks. Everything was going more smoothly and more productive than either of them anticipated.

At some point Naminé had taken off her blazer as well, tired of its stiffness. It felt more relaxing and inviting at Roxas' mansion. Her home had had been like that before summer…it had been so long since she had felt this way.

"Oh, hello," a charming lady was by the entrance of the kitchen, "Roxas, you didn't tell me we were having guests today."

Naminé stared at the woman in awe. Her long dark brown hair fell perfectly on her head, and her warm brown eyes looked so maternal. She wore a dark and simple dress that complimented her fair skin that was perfect to wear at home, but managed looked stunning on her well endowed figure. The woman looked to be older, if not then the same age as her mother. Despite her age, she looked beautiful.

"Hey mom," Roxas smiled as he greeted her, "Naminé this is my mom; Mom this is Naminé."

His mother just gave a quick wave from the entrance, "Pleased to meet you."

"You as well, Mrs. Schaeffer," Naminé couldn't help but feel the charisma emitting from the older woman. It was hard not to tense up at her presence since Naminé didn't want to make a fool out of herself.

She laughed, "It's not really Mrs. Schaeffer anymore, so Ms. Hikari would be just fine."

"Oh, a-alright," Naminé flushed in embarrassment.

"So what are you two working on?" she asked.

"An English project," Roxas answered.

"I know you two will be working hard, but be sure not to strain yourselves," she smiled warmly.

"Yes mom," Roxas rolled his eyes. It felt so weird having parents around when his peers were ever at his home.

"Good luck to both of you," with that she made her leave.

There was a pregnant pause before Roxas and Naminé exchanged words again.

"She's so weird, isn't she?" Roxas grumbled.

Naminé laughed, "Your mom seems really nice, and very pretty."

"She'd be very happy to hear that," Roxas was certain.

_Ms. Hikari…_ his mother's words were still running through her head, "I almost forgot your parents were like mine. So where is your dad? If I can ask that is…" she wasn't sure if Roxas was comfortable talking about his situation, but she just had to ask.

"He's back at Traverse Town. I used to live with him after the separation, but my mom wanted me to finish my high school here," Roxas explained. He didn't seem fond of the word _divorce_, seeing as how he avoided it.

"I see. You seem really close with your parents. Lucky…" Naminé noted with a sad look in her eyes.

Roxas felt it was time to change the subject. He got off of his seat to go get the chicken out of the oven, "I just need to finish this up and then we can finally eat."

Naminé could tell Roxas was excited that it was almost time to chow down. Adding some wine and lemon juice that he took out of the fridge, he put the chicken back in and turned the oven off. Five minutes later he took out two plates and removed the baking dish from the oven and placed the finely cut chunks of chicken on the plates.

Putting away the baking dish, he returned to the island, plates full of yummy food and two forks in hand.

"Thanks," Naminé said when he passed her plate and fork to her. Her mouth was watering. The smell was delicious and when she took a bite, her entire face seemed to light up, "Roxas, this is amazing!"

"I know, I know," his ego seemed to rise with every compliment.

"How did you learn to cook so well?" Naminé asked in awe. The meal was delicious, but there was something about a homemade meal that made Naminé enjoy it more.

"My mom watches the cooking channel every Sunday morning," Roxas told as he took his seat beside her, "I didn't have many friends when I first moved into town so for most of the summer I practiced how to cook. My mom and I never needed to hire a chef since."

Naminé listened with admiration, "I wish I knew how to cook."

"Why no one cooks at home?"

She shook her head, "Not since father left. My mom cooks a little, but since she's usually at work she doesn't have time and usually orders out for us."

"I see."

After eating and Roxas washing their plates they went back to their project, only conversing when needed. A bit of Roxas' grammar on the script was off, but other than that it was fine in Naminé's eyes. They continued like this for the next couple of hours.

The sun was gone and only darkness could be seen out the window. They hardly needed to take bathroom breaks, but as they continued to work Roxas felt like he was falling asleep.

"We've been at this for hours. You want to take a break?" Roxas asked. If they went on, it surely wouldn't be good for his health.

Naminé felt unsure, but she was fatigued as well, "I don't know…"

"Naminé, you've been at the bibliography for hours. It's perfect as is," Roxas assured, desperate to stop working.

"I guess," she sighed, "Should I go home then?"

Roxas checked his watch, "It's only eight, I'm sure you can stick around a bit longer." Getting off the stool, he was finally getting some feeling back to his stiff legs.

"But Roxas, it's a weekday," she knew her mother would want her home as soon as possible whenever it wasn't a Friday or Saturday.

"So? We're doing this for school, _right_?"

She had caught the hint of mischief in his voice. Something about the way he was staring at her managed to make her forget about everything else; consequences and all.

"So, what are we going to do?" she asked, stretching her arms and legs. Her muscles ached from the way she had sat.

"I've got the perfect idea," Naminé wasn't sure if she should have trusted that grin plastered across his face.

* * *

"Roxas…" she breathed. She didn't know how much longer she could take of this.

"You just have to endure it a bit longer Naminé," he assured.

"But…I…ah…" she clutched the sheets. Oh how she wished she had a pillow to muffle the scream that threatened to escape.

"Don't do that, the experience won't be the same," he cooed.

"But Roxas…!" her hands now covered her face, "I can't take_ scary_ movies!"

Suddenly a blood-curdling scream emitted from the television causing Naminé to scream as well. Roxas immediately broke out into laughter from her reaction.

Since the living room had yet to be finished from the renovations, Roxas had decided to bring Naminé to his room where he chose a movie from his wide-ranged collection. He figured a horror movie would be the perfect way to erase all thoughts of the assignment. What he didn't take into account was Naminé's deathly phobia of scary movies.

The two were sitting side-by-side on Roxas' queen-sized bed, and he had made sure to keep all pillows out of Naminé's reach so that she would have nothing to hide behind. He surely didn't expect that she'd reach for him as a last resort. She clung onto Roxas as if her life depended on it with her face buried into his shoulder. There was little to no thought behind her actions, only instinct.

"Dammit Roxas! Turn the T.V. off!" Her complains were muffled since she was still clinging to Roxas. Despite her attempt to sound strong when giving her demands, she was still trembling like a kitten.

"Oh come on Nam, it's not that bad." He tapped her shoulder and pointed at the screen, "See?"

With Roxas' words she tried to look back to the screen only to see the murderer creeping slowly behind his unaware victim.

"Gah! Roxas!" it was hard to be angry and fearful at the same time.

Roxas continued to snicker, "I can't believe you fell for that."

"It's not funny!" she whined.

"Okay, okay, joke's over," he surrendered as he took the remote to pause the movie and then turned off the television. When Naminé wasn't letting go, he sighed in defeat, "It wasn't that bad, Naminé."

"How can you be so…mean?" she sniffed, her grip still strong. Naminé couldn't help but notice he had called her by her full name. It was a nice change, but that didn't stop the way she felt at the moment.

The guilt was now washing over Roxas, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

When a sob escaped her lips, Roxas' free arm automatically tried to reach forward to comfort her…that is until she looked up at him with a devious smirk.

"Fooled you!" snagging a pillow from his reach, she thwacked him on his head.

"You cheater!" his exclaimed as she backed away, "I'll get you for that!"

Even with the pillow ready in her hands, the moment he tugged her leg and pulled her closer she was rendered useless after being caught of guard.

"Eeek!" she yelped. Now she was on her back, with Roxas pinning her down.

"Now I can extract my revenge," he smirked.

Tickling her sides, Naminé burst into a fit of giggles. She tried to squirm away, but resistance was futile.

"So the oh-so-graceful Naminé is ticklish, eh?" Roxas chuckled.

"S-stop R-Roxas…I can't b-breathe!" tears were beginning to form on her eyes. She felt like she was going to die from laughter.

Her hand searched blindly for anything, but as she as she grabbed hold of a pillow she shoved it into Roxas' face.

"Oof!" Roxas had fallen back on the bed.

As she was about to return the torture he gave her not to long ago, the ring of a cell phone caused her loose her focus and balance, causing her to fall onto Roxas.

The two couldn't stop laughing, enjoying the moment for as long as they could before the phone continued to ring. Roxas knew it was his but the moment their eyes locked as Naminé tried to get up, both of them froze.

The feeling was strange. It was like that moment in the party all over again. That strange sense of yearning…

When the phone had rung again, Naminé immediately scrambled off. Her head was swirling, and her cheeks were flushed. She didn't know if the color on her face was because of Roxas' tickle attack or because of that awkward moment.

"Hello?" Roxas' face was as flushed as hers as he answered the phone.

She had always known Roxas' eyes were striking, but to see him staring back at her with the same bewilderment and his intoxicating scent overwhelming her, she didn't know what would have happened if it wasn't for the phone. Naminé had been so close to Roxas during the movie, but wasn't like this.

"O-oh, sorry Xion, I've just been a little busy," Roxas explained through the phone, "Me? Well I was just studying with a friend."

_Xion?_ Naminé had never heard that name before and wondered who Roxas was talking to over the phone.

"I guess we can just talk later. I'll call back," Naminé couldn't help but catch _that_ look in Roxas' eyes, "Bye, Xion."

Naminé recalled the day she spent with Roxas (and Riku) to look for a present for his mystery girl. Was this Xion the girl Roxas was infatuated with? It was strange, but an unfamiliar feeling roused up in Naminé's chest.

When Roxas put away his phone he was about to say something until it was her phone's turn to ring. Naminé immediately flipped it open.

"Naminé!" the voice was exasperated, but she recognized who it was.

"Mother?" her face was now filled with guilt. She knew she was in trouble.

"Naminé, do you have any idea what _time_ it is? Where are you?" her mother never raised her voice, but Naminé knew she was angry.

"S-sorry mother, I'm still at Roxas' house studying. I lost track of time."

"I'll send a chauffeur there," she did not have enough patience for this.

With that the conversation ended. A frown still stayed on Naminé's lips, "Do you know what time it is?" her voice was quiet and curious.

Roxas glanced at the clock, "It's really late…well more like early. If you stayed here any longer the sun will probably rise up." He laughed halfheartedly.

Naminé smiled at his attempt to cheer her up. She was thankful, "I better get going."

"Okay."

Grabbing her blazer off of his chair that sat close to his study desk (Naminé had brought her when they had decided they would watch a movie upstairs), she put it on before they exited his room. Naminé and Roxas never mentioned a word of what happened earlier as they waited for Naminé's chauffeur to come. Getting her coat back from his maids, they exchanged farewells when she saw her ride coming into view.

After reaching home and enduring a light scolding from her mom, Naminé got ready for bed, tired from her study session. For the rest of her night, she couldn't stop her rather vivid imagination. That night all she could think about was what it would have been like if she had kissed Roxas.

* * *

**A/N:** I'm not sure if I'll be able to put up a preview of chapter 11 this time around. I apologize in advance. I hope you enjoyed this chapter though. Please review!


	11. Uncertainty

**Chapter Eleven: Uncertainty**

**Summary:** _A life of glamour and riches, Naminé has all she could ever ask for. Meeting Roxas in the most unlikely of circumstances, will Naminé see the fine line between romance and friendship before it's too late? Or has she already crossed it?_

**Author's Note: **Thanks for the reviews guys! I really appreciate them. Now on to the chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own or am affiliated to the Kingdom Hearts series.

* * *

With the two staying so long at Roxas' house the week before, Roxas and Naminé decided to take a small break and work again the week after. It was now the first Friday of December. Students were thankful that the week was almost over. Just a couple more hours and it would be the weekend.

Naminé had just finished up in her home economics class and was ready to head for world history until she saw Riku coming her way from down the hall. She waved as he approached her.

"Hey Riku," she greeted as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

"Hey Naminé," he smiled at her presence. Pulling a cell phone out of his pocket he held it in front of Naminé and she took it.

"Isn't this Sora's phone?" she immediately recognized the model.

"He left it in our law class. I figured you'd see him during lunch so just pass it over to him. I have sports practice so I can't be there today," Riku informed.

"I see. Thanks, Riku." She smiled, "See you later."

"Later." With that he headed for his next class.

There was still another five more minutes for break before she would have to get inside the classroom, and with her new found friendship with Roxas she knew he would save a seat for her. Lately whenever one was late for class they always made the gesture to save seats for one another.

Naminé slipped the phone in her pocket, but she didn't let go. There was a sudden urge to look through it, especially with Olette's words from last week ringing through her head.

"_I know he may seem like a great guy Naminé, but I think Sora might be cheating."_

_Naminé shook her head and let go of Olette's hands, "No, Sora would never do that. He's got a heart of gold. He would never. Olette why would you-?"_

"_Have you bothered to check his phone?"_

His phone. It would surely give her the answers she needed, but what if he was the type to delete messages and incoming calls? It would prove no use to her and the guilt of being suspicious and invading Sora's privacy would only hang above her head if she went through with it.

Taking the phone out of her pocket she stared at it. It was a flip phone like hers; the black shiny surface gleamed in the light enticing her to go through with her plan. She stared at it hesitantly and flipped the phone open.

The wallpaper was of a pile of keys. Naminé didn't really understand but she knew the worst had yet to come. Checking the outgoing and incoming calls, it was as if her worst fears had come to life.

Naminé's name and others were there but one name just kept appearing everywhere;

_Kairi. Kairi. Kairi._

Just _who _was this girl? It was the only name she didn't recognize and the name was likely to belong to a girl of people.

Naminé just couldn't stop herself anymore and checked the messages. It was filled with that awful name yet again. She glanced at one text message dated on the day she and Sora were supposed to go out and her hands were suddenly trembling.

_We should go out again sometime soon. Thanks for being with me, Sora._

Cute emoticons were attached to the message and Naminé could almost picture how this other girl's appearance: a perfect tan, a lovely smile and a genuine attitude—a far cry from herself.

Naminé's fair hair and pale skin made her almost look like a ghost in her opinion. The only color she had was her blue eyes, but that wasn't what boys would look at. No, a cheerful disposition and an outgoing personality is what most wanted. Naminé could be considered shy with the lack of words she spoke with. The only time she would be loud was with her friends, and not just any friend—only close friends like Riku.

It was hard for Naminé to keep up with social standards, but Sora was _hers_. Why would this Kairi try to steal him away from her? Unless Sora never spoke a word about Naminé to this girl…

She couldn't even bare to look at the other messages. If she did, Naminé knew her heart would just shatter. Naminé shook her head.

_No…these are just messages. It's not like Sora's actually done anything with her. _Naminé just kept repeating this to herself. The Sora she knew was fun-loving and always put other's feelings before his. He would never do something far-fetched like _cheating_.

He wasn't like her father.

Naminé let out deep breathes so that the stinging sensation of her eyes would disappear. Walking to her next class, she decided she would give Sora his phone during lunch and just forget about everything she had just witnessed. She would prove Olette wrong. Most boys would break up with her rather quickly so Sora stood as her longest standing relationship. She figured Sora was just probably going through a phase.

* * *

Naminé had always been a little quiet during group conversations, just slipping a few comments here and there, but today she was quieter than usual. She had returned Sora's phone which in turn he gave her a kiss and thanked her. That was enough for her, but the quelled feelings still kept twisting in her stomach.

She and Roxas had planned to go over her house again to put some finishing touches on their presentation. Naminé knew she wasn't up to it, but decided to pretend everything was okay and go through with it.

Throughout the car ride to her condo, she was silent. It felt like a bad idea to be with Roxas today, but he was just a friend. Naminé had stayed faithful to Sora throughout their entire relationship at present. That summer night with Roxas didn't count because not she and Sora not together at the time.

It felt like everything was falling apart, pouring itself onto her. Naminé didn't know how much longer she could take of this.

They finally reached the building, but as the car stopped Roxas gave Naminé a serious look.

"Naminé, are you alright?" Roxas' cerulean eyes were filled with worry. Those beautiful eyes…lately Naminé found herself getting lost in its blue depths.

She shook her head, "Nothing is wrong. Why do you ask?"

"You're a terrible liar, you know that?"

Naminé just sighed and got out of the car and Roxas came after her. He knew she would speak when she was ready.

As they rode the elevator, Naminé tried to busy her thoughts with the project and it was going well. Roxas was an efficient partner, and she was sure that they would receive high marks. The elevator soon reached the highest floor and Naminé and Roxas stepped out. Pulling her keys out, she unlocked the door.

When they got in they removed their coats and boots like the first time they entered together.

"Hello, Naminé," it was her mother. Naminé almost forgot that her mother came home early during Fridays. She had just gotten off her seat on the couch, and walked over to Naminé and Roxas—curious of the guest's visit.

"Hello, mother," Naminé's greetings always felt so formal with their other woman, "Mother, this is Roxas Schaeffer—Roxas this is my mom."

When Roxas wasn't responding, Naminé turned to Roxas. Her eye began to twitch, she knew that look _anywhere_. Those flushed cheeks, those sparkling eyes, his mouth agape—Naminé had seen that look enough times to recognize it. She had seen that expression from other men in the past.

Naminé discreetly stomped on his foot, causing Roxas to yelp and snap out of his trance. Her mother was slightly startled, wondering what had gotten into both of them.

"_Roxas_," Naminé seethed under her breath, a fake smile plastered on her face in her feeble attempt to not look suspicious in front of her mother.

Roxas would have glared at Naminé if her mother wasn't in front of them.

"Uhh…" he was speechless, "I-it's a pleasure to m-meet you, Ms. Bellamont."

"And you as well Roxas. You can just call me Céleste," she smiled sweetly. Naminé knew it was her mother's professional face. She had always done that when meeting new people, "Ms. Bellamont makes me feel so old."

Roxas' cheeks flooded with color, "Oh, my apologies…Céleste."

While Naminé was beautiful like a porcelain doll as most liked to describe, her mother was an entirely different story. She was a _surreal_ type of beauty—someone you could only find in the figments of your imagination or like an airbrushed celebrity in the front of a magazine. Céleste was more beautiful than any model that Roxas had ever seen.

Her skin was as pale and smooth like Naminé's, and her wavy flaxen hair reached close to her waist—gorgeous even though nothing special was done to it. Her waist was like an hourglass, but while she wasn't as well-endowed like his mother she looked _perfect_. Roxas could only sputter in her presence.

_This _was the reason why Naminé never liked to bring friends over.

Her mother was beautiful—maybe even beyond words. If her mother was a rose, Naminé was a bud at best. Just by being in a room full of people, everyone would notice her mother's presence. She was _divine_. Many could only imagine the toll this put on Naminé's self-esteem. Infatuation after infatuation, Naminé had lost almost all the boys in her life whenever they witnessed her mother's beauty. Even Riku was no exception to her spell, but he had been quieter about it, though Naminé still managed to find out much later. It only fueled Naminé's rage when some of the boys had enough nerves to chase after the older woman—believing they had a chance.

It wasn't only that; being well-known to the junior population of the school, many would compare Naminé to her mother. _Naminé is pretty, don't you think? But not like her mother_, they would say. Naminé wanted to be known as _Naminé_—not as the Bellamont's daughter or the popular girl, but no one ever really gave her a chance to show her true self.

This just added to why Naminé resented her. She could never be enough, not with her mother around. It was why Naminé had never bothered to bring Sora over to her home or even introduce him to her.

"Well mother, Roxas and I have to study. So we'll just see you later," Naminé put on a smile before dragging the unsuspecting Roxas to her room.

Pushing Roxas through the door, Naminé was fuming. It was disgusting knowing that Roxas was checking out her _mother_.

"Your mom…" Roxas began, cheeks still stained with color, "she was…"

"I know! I know!" Naminé was angry at herself for raising her voice, but the stress was just piling up.

She didn't exactly hate her mother. As her parent, Naminé had an obligation to love her to an extent. Her beauty was just one of the minor factors. Ever since she was young, her mother was hardly ever home. While her father did care for her on his days off, she would usually have a caretaker. Her mother was just too busy living life.

Céleste had given birth to Naminé at twenty-one. She was always rich, even before meeting Naminé's father; her family had earned money from old inheritances. Her father was only five-years her senior and the two had been married a year before, enraptured by her presence. Her mother had wanted to finish university and wasn't ready to be a mother. Even now, she felt the need to be young. She was a free-spirit and didn't want to get held down by anything.

In truth, Naminé's mother never felt like a mother to her; just someone who ordered her around and laid down a strict policy.

"S-sorry," Roxas apologized.

Naminé was still furious, and she didn't do well to hide it, "You don't need to apologize. You didn't do anything wrong."

"You know…even though she's pretty," Naminé cringed when he put it into words. Either way, Roxas continued, "Your eyes are still more beautiful." Céleste's eyes weren't like Naminé's deep sapphires; her eyes were an icy blue.

Naminé suddenly felt her face grow hot, almost enough to make her stagger, "W-what?"

Roxas only smiled, "You heard me." At least he knew how to cheer up a girl.

"L-let's just finish up our project, okay?" she stuttered. Naminé knew it was no use trying to cover up her face. No one had ever said anything like that before and it only added to Naminé's embarrassment.

She felt a little better with Roxas words and the two continued their project. They were only reciting Roxas' script, and were preparing for the presentation next week. After rehearsing twice (with mistakes that caused outbursts of laughter here and there), the grumbling of Roxas' stomach made Naminé giggle.

"You're hungry already?" she questioned.

"It's already been a while," Roxas insisted.

When her stomach rumbled as well, it was Roxas' turn to laugh. Her cheeks tinged with pink.

"Well, I'm sure there's something in the kitchen we can munch on," Naminé told.

Following Naminé, both blondes headed for the kitchen in hopes of finding some food. When Naminé suddenly stopped by the end of the hall, Roxas' steps came to a halt as well. He wondered what would have caused her to discontinue their journey for a quick snack, but the moment she turned around with a grave expression, worry raced through Roxas.

"What's the matter?" he asked in a hush whisper. Everything was quiet and still—it didn't seem right to speak in louder tone.

"My mother…she…" her gaze dropped to the floor.

He didn't wait for her answer. Peering over her shoulder, he immediately understood the situation.

Céleste was practically downing the entire bottle of red wine as she stood by the black marble-topped island. Cup after cup, she continued to pour more, her face emotionless and her eyes staring at nothing in particular. Though Naminé held some resentment towards her mother, it didn't stop her from worrying.

"Mother never gets like this, something must be wrong," her voice was barely audible. Naminé shook her head, "I think you should go home for now."

"A-alright."

Going back to her room, she helped Roxas pack up. The two rushed to the foyer where Roxas quickly put on his shoes and coat. Naminé had walked him out the door and clicked the elevator's button for him. As the elevator reached their floor, Roxas turned back to Naminé one last time.

"I'm sorry I can't be much help," he looked at her solemnly.

"No, this is enough." Naminé assured. She had wished Roxas could have stayed a little longer. Naminé was hesitant in going back inside.

When Roxas put a comforting hand on her shoulder, she looked up at him in surprise.

"Hey, I know you were feeling down earlier no matter how much you want to deny it," Naminé opened her mouth to speak but closed it again as Roxas shook his head and continued, "If you ever need someone to listen, I'm here for you okay? Just give me a call."

Whenever Roxas wasn't acting like complete jerk, it was easy to appreciate him, "Thanks Roxas, I'll do that." A half-hearted smile managed to tug the corners of her lips.

With that Roxas entered the elevator and the closing doors soon blocked him from view. Naminé turned around, preparing herself for the worst before entering her home. When she saw her mother with the drink, there was something else on the black marble-topped island.

Naminé could see that the letter from her father was opened. The manila envelope had a tear at the top, the paper knife lying beside. She could see the white papers peaking out of the torn opening and Naminé's curiosity rose as she approached her mother.

"Mother, is something wrong?" Naminé could not hide the anxiety in her eyes. What could have caused her mother to get in such a state? The mother she knew only drank wine in subtle sips, swirling it and appreciating the drink like it is supposed to be. Here she was, almost half-way through the aged bottle. What was in that letter that her father had sent?

Naminé hadn't noticed she was holding her breath until she suddenly felt the need for air. Glancing at the edge of the papers that managed to peak through, Naminé didn't need anymore words.

It was the divorce papers.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry this chapter is so short, but chapter 12 will make up for it since it has around 4700-ish words. Please review!


	12. His Decision

**Chapter Twelve: His Decision**

**Summary:** _A life of glamour and riches, Naminé has all she could ever ask for. Meeting Roxas in the most unlikely of circumstances, will Naminé see the fine line between romance and friendship before it's too late? Or has she already crossed it?_

**Author's Note: **Thank you all so much for the reviews, and I apologize again for the extremely late update! School has just been so busy, but that it's all over with maybe I can get back to my weekly updating-self :)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own or am affiliated to the Kingdom Hearts series.

* * *

"You_ what_?" it was the first time in her seventeen years of her life had Naminé ever head her mother raise her voice.

Rewinding time back to the last week of summer, Naminé could remember the entire night as clear as day try as she might to push it all away. She wasn't in the master bedroom where her parents' conflict was taking place, but she could hear it as she sat quietly by the hallway, submerged in the shadows in hopes that her parents wouldn't see her. Naminé didn't dare take a peak through the small opening of the doorway—too frozen in her spot to move.

Her father had arrived from work later than usual—something he had been doing more and more often the past few months. For a man of early forties, he looked young and handsome for his age; well-built for a business man, tufts of platinum hair and a familiar shade of sapphire around his irises. He was always a well-dressed man, but seeing the necktie gone and the grave expression on his features, Naminé immediately decided it wasn't the best time to greet her father.

Before she could scurry off to her room where she would pretend to continue reading her book—where in reality she would soon be eavesdropping—her father called after her.

"Naminé, where is your mother? I'd like to speak to her."

She immediately answered, "She's in your room. Is something the matter, father?"

"It's not something you need to concern yourself with," though his smile was kind, his eyes were still filled with grief, "You'll understand when your older."

With that Naminé headed to her room. Her father's steps were slow to the ear, but he soon reached the master bedroom.

At first it was murmurs, barely audible in her room. Naminé decided they were too caught up in whatever they were conversing and snuck outside of her room to the one across where she sat silently.

Her parents had been arguing over the past few months, but Naminé figured it was all part of the marriage process, but when it began to continue more often it only brought worry to Naminé. She had tried to eavesdrop a couple of times to see what the main topic was and if there was something she could do to help, but when all they could speak of was her father's late hours and lack of time spent with the family it was hard to brush away her greatest fears.

Tonight was different from all the nights. Her parents usually had talk-fights, as she liked to call them. Her parents were highly against yelling and raising voices, saying it was only for barbarians and uncouth people but as soon as her mother's voice boomed through the room, Naminé knew it had escalated from bad to worse.

"Do you have any idea what affect this will have on Naminé? On _me_?" her mother sounded as if she was about to break into hysterics.

Her father's voice was too hushed for Naminé to hear.

"Don't try to calm me down! You have no right!" she continued, "How could you? And she's _pregnant _no less?"

"I didn't mean for this to happen, I just…" his voice was filled with regret.

"Don't touch me!" she snapped, her father was probably trying to reach out to her, "Not with the same hands that held _her_. Don't you dare!"

When Naminé had heard her parents' footsteps creeping closer to the doorway, Naminé decided it was high time she returned to her room. Scurrying off, she couldn't stop herself was listening to every word from her doorway.

"Just leave," her mother sounded exasperated. The once raised voice had reverted back to being calm but not quite collected.

More steps, it seemed they were head for the foyer.

"Céleste, I thought you should know…" more sadness played in his voice, "I'm going to choose her. She needs me."

There was a quiet pause; Naminé wasn't sure how her mother reacted to that statement. Would her eyes have widened in shock or was she putting on her usual mask of ice? Naminé would never know.

"I'll have your things ready by morning. Come by at noon when Naminé's with her friends and when I'm at work. No later, and definitely not earlier." Her mother's voice never quite seemed loving from as far as Naminé could remember, but now it seemed all life was sucked out of her, "I don't think I can stand to see your face anymore." While her voice was quiet and hushed, Naminé did her best to hear it all.

Her father didn't protest. Wordless, he made his leave.

Naminé wasn't sure how she did it with her limbs numb and all, but shutting the lights off she crawled to her bed where she pretended to be sleeping, but her eyes were still open; staring into nothingness. Did what transpired out her room really happened?

No more thoughts ran through her head. Naminé wasn't sure if she should have been crying or at least going up to her mother to comfort her. Everything seemed so hard to process. She didn't know how long she had been lying like that, but the shudder of her cell phone against the table's surface brought some life back into her veins. Automatically grabbing her phone, she checked caller ID: it was Olette.

She and Olette had become good friends because of Sora. Olette was known from flying from group to group at lunch and was usually seen with that blonde boy, Hayner. Upon meeting Naminé though, somehow Olette just stuck. She had always eaten lunch with her, and over the summer Olette always insisted they hung out, and Naminé always found herself agreeing. Now was not the time though. Naminé figured Olette would just give up but when the buzzing of the phone continued she flipped it open.

"Hello?" Naminé's voice was lifeless, but as soon as she heard the sobbing coming from the other end it was as if her heart stopped, "O-Olette?"

"N-Naminé, Hayner he…" she continued to sob.

Naminé's eyes widened with alarm, "What did he do, Olette?"

"I-it doesn't matter. I just…Do you think you can hang out with me? I just want to forget all about it."

She wasn't sure she up to it, "Olette, I—"

"Please, Naminé? You the closest one I have to a best friend right now…" Olette wasn't lying. Being a social butterfly, Olette hardly ever settled down with a set group of friends. It was only Hayner she managed to stay with everyday, and with him gone Olette didn't have many people to rely on. She may have had many friends, but not close friends.

The way Olette had pleaded pulled a string on Naminé's heart. She knew it wasn't the right time to do this, but her heart always got the better of her.

With a heavy sigh, Naminé spoke, "Pick me up at eleven?"

"A-alright," Olette stumbled through her words, choking back the sobs.

Closing her phone, it was now time for Naminé to look for a dress.

* * *

Naminé wasn't sure how she did it, but she had gone up to her mother and had asked her permission to spend the night at Olette's. There were too many things going through Céleste's thoughts at the time and had granted her the permission Naminé needed without question. With the fact she was spending more time with Olette and Naminé's growing friendship with the brunette teen over the summer, her mother already had Olette's home phone number so she supposedly had no reason to worry.

Quickly wearing her black sparkling strapless cocktail dress, Naminé slipped on her favorite red pumps before she snuck out her front door as fast as she could so her mother wouldn't catch on with the attire she wore. Naminé had worn a white colored light jacket, knowing the night breeze could get rather chilly despite the hot season. Whenever she and Olette just wanted to forget everything, the two would hit the night life together in style.

Naminé had arrived in the lobby in a flash. She was so consumed in her thoughts that she had almost forgotten to leave the elevator until a person who entered asked her what floor she was headed to before they would press the buttons. Blushing in embarrassment, she stepped out before they could close the elevator doors. She didn't need to wait long for Olette arrived on time.

"So are we headed to the club?" Naminé asked when she saw Olette. She thanked the chauffeur who had opened the door for her as she got in the vehicle and he closed it after her.

Olette would have looked lovely if it was not for her puffy red eyes and the color staining her cheeks. Underneath Olette's thin black trench coat, which she left the buttons undone, she wore a mermaid green tube dress that had a small amount of black lace trimmings peaking below.

"I don't know," Olette answered, her gaze dropping to her hands that lay on her lap, "I was sure that was the best idea at first, but after I got in the car I just didn't know if I have the energy anymore…"

The car engine roared into life and it soon began driving towards the direction of the club as Olette had instructed earlier. Naminé frowned and put a comforting hand on Olette's bare shoulder. Her eyes were filled with empathy for her—it seemed both of them were going through a rough time despite the striking difference in their dilemmas.

"Maybe a club isn't the right place to head to then…" Naminé concluded.

Olette seemed happier with Naminé's company, and a smile of appreciation tugged at the corners of her lips, "I think I'd still want a drink though."

"I'll probably need one as well," Naminé approved.

Contacting her chauffer, Olette told him of the change of plans and they were now headed to the classiest lounge in town. A lounge was a mix of a bar and club, something Naminé found much more appealing. With their status and money, the moment Olette and Naminé got there it didn't take them long to enter. This place had a V.I.P. list but using their family names along with the help of some fake IDs it was easy to bypass security.

Olette had been the one to get her and her friends their fake identification cards. Naminé wasn't sure how Olette had got a hold of them seeing as how her family worked within the medical field—her mother a top surgeon and her father was the owner and founder of the Twilight Town Hospital. While Olette may have stayed within the top five of the school's ranks with her academics (with high hopes of becoming a surgeon like her mother), she earned her rebellious streak from the influence of Hayner. Naminé assumed she managed to get them through her unruly boyfriend or some other connections.

"This environment feels much better," Olette sighed in relief.

"You said it," Naminé agreed as they walked through the front door.

There was already a crowd of people, either chatting away by the bar and tables or moving their feet on the dance floor. The place was very modern and chic; a glass dance floor and bar, and leather seats or stools for the ones who just wanted to relax. It was less stressful than a club that had booming music but much more lively than a bar. When the two teens entered, a group from their high school had already recognized them, beckoning the two towards their reserved table.

"Olette! Naminé! You two look fabulous," a girl with long dark hair complimented as they approached them.

"Thanks," Naminé did her best to smile. It was a little hard to feel anything with earlier events from that night still swirling in her head.

One of the girls in the red dress frowned, "You look down Olette, something the matter?"

Due to the long car ride, Olette managed to recompose herself but her nose was still tinged with red and the miserable look in her eyes was a dead give away.

"Just boy problems," she admitted.

"Were having a girls' night out, it would be great if you two joined us," another one suggested. They were a large clique, and Naminé had recognized most of them from the academy. She figured the others were just friends of friends tagging along. It was the last week of summer and the group was probably savoring every moment of it.

"Why not?" Olette shrugged, feeling better already.

Olette and Naminé decided to join the group and they scooted over to make room for the two girls. They were all wasting away the night with fruity cocktails and other alcoholic beverages, just enjoying themselves in the best way they could. Others soon joined the dance floor, but few had stayed behind.

"I'm going to get us more drinks," Naminé told as she got off her seat, stumbling slightly. She had already consumed a shot of tequila and other beverages, but she still wanted at least one more glass.

"Be careful Naminé, we don't want you to get lost," Olette giggled, her drinks getting to her head, "Want me to tag along?"

"No, no!" Naminé insisted, "You stay put and enjoy yourself."

Heading over to the bar, Naminé managed to get a hold of the bar tenders attention. Ordering a tequila sunset, the bar tender created one for her with ease as she passed her munny over. It was hard not to notice the young man beside her. He looked no older than she was, and his mop of golden hair was so striking and his build wasn't too bad. She figured he was already tipsy from the sight of color staining his cheeks and the shot glasses around him. He seemed to be just settling for a beer now, but his eyes didn't seem to look at anything in particular—lost in his own world.

"What's a pretty boy like you sitting here all by yourself?"

He was startled by her comment, turning towards her almost immediately. Naminé couldn't believe how taken back she was when his gaze met hers. She had never seen a more dazzling pair of eyes, such a perfect shade of cerulean, but there was little something about his features that reminded her of Sora—a boy she had gone on a few dates with, three to be exact.

She was kind of sad how Sora didn't make time for her at all over the summer, but he had asked her out again recently now that he was out of summer school. If he wasn't planning of asking her to be his girlfriend soon…well it didn't matter really. There were other fish in the sea.

He stayed quiet, shy almost, so Naminé decided to try again, "Did you get stood up or something?"

The color on his cheeks became more vibrant, "Not exactly." Wow, even his voice was alluring.

"A catch like you shouldn't be so down, liven up a little," she smiled as she took a seat on the stool next to his. Naminé didn't even know what she was saying anymore, but she could definitely feel the aura of grief emitting from him.

Her smile was contagious even though he was feeling gloomy, "You're just saying that. I mean you're just some drunken lady talking to me."

"Well, you're drunk too," Naminé frowned when he referred her to 'some drunken lady.'

"Hmm…" he thought for a moment, "Well, you're right about that."

The two laughed, unsure whether it was because they were enjoying one another's company or if it was just the alcohol getting to them.

"Not to worry though, I'm feeling down too," Naminé didn't seem all that serious about her statement when she made a deep playful frown.

"Then why don't we drink to happiness?" he smiled, holding up his bottle of beer.

"We shall," she smiled back and toasted to his glass.

"To happiness!" the two cheered in unison before breaking into uncontrollable laughter.

What Naminé had not realized that night was that was the teen in front of her was none other than Roxas Schaeffer.

* * *

That night was something better left forgotten, but it was a night that would never leave Naminé.

"Mother…" she approached her cautiously, "what happened?"

"I just…I never thought he would send them so soon…" Her mother wasn't staring at anything in particular as she swirled the glass in her hands.

"You mean the divorce papers?" Naminé took another step closer until she was standing right in front of her. Her mother's silence was as good as any spoken answers, "It was inevitable wasn't it? He was the one who chose to leave us."

"Of course I know that. I was his wife, and I just loved him too much to see that we were drifting apart…I just wasn't enough."

"Mother…" Naminé could feel her eyes stinging. She had never seen her mother this way. Céleste always gave the impression of a strong woman in an emotional sense. Naminé never had reason to doubt her mother's strength and even secretly admired her for it. Always taking everything in a professional level, never letting anything as silly as emotions sway her—she seemed perfect. While her mother may have never been the mother Naminé needed, she was someone she looked up to.

"I feel like a failure. He was the one who deliberately hurt us, and yet I feel like I'm the one who failed us. I'm no good as a wife, and I'm no good as a mother either," tears slip down her mother's pale eyes; it was hard to hold back anymore, "surely you would agree?"

Naminé felt as if her body had frozen over. She had seen actors crying in movies, she had seen her friends cry for lost loves, she had seen her father cry at the funeral for her grandmother—but the mother she knew had never cried. Not once in her life. Naminé knew her mother had been upset about the separation, but neither of them had ever shed a tear about it. Now that the divorce would soon be legalized…it was a totally different story.

"If I didn't look like the victim, you would have chosen his side," her mother laughed grimly.

"That's not true," Naminé interjected, "I would have-"

"I'm a terrible mother, Naminé. Don't even deny it," More tears continued to escape, cascading down her cheeks, "I'm a cold hearted woman who doesn't even know how to express her feelings. I didn't know how to love him properly, and I kept pushing away my lovely daughter because I was just scared of being a mother…I'm a terrible person."

Her mother's sobs were heartbreaking. It was the only sound that filled the quiet home. Naminé wasn't sure how to react. Here her mother was, falling apart right in front of her. She did the only thing she felt was right; Naminé walked up to her mother, brought her mother close and embraced her as a few tears of her own fell from her eyes.

"You're not a terrible person…you're a wonderful person. You're terrific…you're," Naminé just felt the words flowing out of her as she let her mother cry on her shoulder, "You're _my_ mother and I wouldn't have it any other way."

After her mother poured out her feelings, she just continued to cry in arms of her daughter. Naminé stroked her mother's back, doing anything she could to comfort her even though she needed to be consoling as well.

It was hard to watch her family crumbling before her, but her thoughts just kept drifting back to Sora. Was their relationship going to fall apart like this one?

* * *

"Really? I'm from the Islands too!" the bell-like voice chimed.

"I've never known anyone else in this town that lived in Destiny Islands too," Sora was amazed. Destiny Islands was his hometown up until high school, and being from the islands was a rather huge shift when he moved to the city-like town.

Apparently Kairi had been born in Radiant Garden, but lived her childhood in the islands until middle school when she moved to Twilight Town. At Twilight Town, she met Olette and the two continued to contact one another despite attending different high schools. Kairi's family wasn't as fortunate as the ones from St. Aurora, but still had money having a father who was a well-established attorney.

From what Sora had been told she attended the local public high school, Twilight High, and her uniform was evidence of that. Below her coat, Kairi wore a white dress shirt—in which she rolled up the sleeves—along with a light blue plaid skirt that had a matching necktie.

It was after school, and Sora had gone to pick up Kairi for yet another outing that they agreed upon. The car ride took a while to get to her school, but after picking her up the two soon headed over to a cozy café near Kairi's school—far from anywhere St. Aurora students would visit and far too cheap by their standards. Sora found nothing wrong with establishments that weren't so up-scale, but most of the snobby rich teens thought otherwise.

After Olette's grand party, it wasn't long before Kairi contacted Sora. She insisted that they were just friends, and it should be no problem if they hung out. Sora had been uneasy at first, but his hesitance was soon washed away by the sound of her voice over the phone. Charm dripped from every word she spoke; quick phone calls soon turned into lengthy conversations, conversations turned to quick get-togethers, and get-togethers soon turned into dates.

Sora had never felt like this before; palms sweaty, heart pounding and the slight euphoria just at the sight of Kairi. It had been like this the moment they had first met—Sora had never felt this way, not even with Naminé. It was addicting, yet he felt wrong. He and Kairi had never done anything physical, whether it was kissing or just a mere hug—Sora knew better than that. If Kairi insisted they were just friends, how come Sora felt guilty after every date?

"So how is it going with you and your girlfriend?" Kairi asked, tucking her stray strands of red hair behind her ear.

"I'm not really sure how to put this…" whenever the subject of his girlfriend was brought up Sora only felt worse, "We've been drifting a little and well, she seems to be getting closer with our friend, Roxas. They used to argue so much, and while I'm glad they good friends…I didn't know I'd be so-"

"Jealous?" Kairi finished his sentence. Sora nodded, "Your girlfriend is lucky, I wish I had a great boyfriend like you who cared." She blushed at that unintentional slip of words. The way her eyes lowered at her statement, Sora could only think about how cute she looked at the moment.

Sora's cheeks heated up from her words, "H-hey, it's getting a bit late."

Kairi looked at her watch, "You're right. I should be heading back. The weekend will probably be a better time to hang out."

"Do you…want me to drive you home?" he couldn't stop himself from asking.

"That would be great," her smile was radiant.

Sora and Kairi headed over to Sora's car. Instructing his driver towards the direction of her home, it wasn't long before they got there. Kairi could have just walked, but it was hard not to turn him down. Sora was just so un-ignorable.

"Well, were here," Kairi stated with yet another charming smile.

From outside of his car window, Sora could see that Kairi's house was a rather humble home—so much quainter than most of the living quarters of his schoolmates. It was his first time ever seeing where she lived.

"I guess we'll just see each other another day. Bye, Sora." Unbuckling her seatbelt, she was ready to step out until a hand reached for her.

"Umm…Kairi…" he didn't even know what he was going to say; all he knew was that he wanted to savor his moments with her. His hand had reached for hers out of instinct and he didn't know why. When Kairi was around such unfamiliar feelings stirred inside him—he wanted so badly to make sense of it all.

"Sora?" his blue eyes were so intense that it caused Kairi's cheeks to heat up. The fact that he was holding her hand didn't make things any better.

He hadn't noticed that he was inching himself closer to her until her scent began to overwhelm him. She smelled of roses and spring blossoms, so full of life like her personality. Only when her eyes were about to flutter close, Sora had realized what he was just about to do.

Pulling back, he apologized quickly, "Sorry about that."

Kairi felt like a cherry now, her face must have been so red. She didn't know what to say.

"Bye, Kairi." He said quickly.

"Bye, Sora." With that she swiftly exited his car, dashing to her front steps.

When his chauffer started the engines of the car again, it hit Sora like a tone of bricks:

Sora had almost _kissed_ Kairi.

Flipping his phone open, he clicked a number on his speed dial. After a few rings a familiar voice spoke. "This is Naminé speaking. Sorry I can't be there to take the call, just leave your message after the beep."

The monotone beep came, and Sora knew it was better to speak now or never.

"Naminé, this is Sora. Can we go out sometime soon? We need to talk."

Sora ended the message and closed his phone, eyes focused on the passing streets outside the window.

* * *

**A/N**: Such a big turn of events! Hope you enjoyed the chapter and please review!


	13. The Bitter Taste

**Chapter Thirteen: The Bitter Taste**

**Summary:** _A life of glamour and riches, Naminé has all she could ever ask for. Meeting Roxas in the most unlikely of circumstances, will Naminé see the fine line between romance and friendship before it's too late? Or has she already crossed it?_

**Author's Note: **Thanks for the reviews last chapter guys! I didn't expect so many especially after that hiatus of mine. I hope you all enjoy this new chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own or am affiliated to the Kingdom Hearts series.

* * *

December seemed to go by in a flash. Winter Break had just begun for high school students all around Twilight Town, including the ones attending St. Aurora Academy. Before the last week of school, Roxas and Naminé's had done their oral presentation. The English project went better than anyone expected, receiving a mark of ninety one—it was better than most group projects Roxas had ever been included in. Most group assignments usually held him back, and Naminé had to agree with him. Olette was impressed by their teamwork, teasing them until Naminé reminded the brunette she still had a boyfriend.

Other than her social life, Naminé's life at home seemed to have improved tremendously. After the breakdown, Naminé couldn't help but notice she found a new friend in her own mother.

"You should go for this one," her mother insisted as she held up the string of pearls close to her daughter's neck.

"Alright," When Naminé had agreed her mother shut the clasp. The two stared back at Naminé's image in the mirror on her vanity table—she looked perfect.

"Sora's going to love you," she gave a kiss on Naminé's left temple.

"Thanks, mother," Naminé smiled. For the first time in her life she felt like she had a mother—the feeling was indescribable. She was sure it was happiness and contentment that filled her at this moment. Naminé had never noticed that her mother was just a misunderstood woman. When she found herself peeling away at the mask, Naminé was sure she found the friend she never had in her very own mother.

Naminé's cream colored dress flowed a few inches above her knees. The design was simple yet the bow tied at the right side added a cute effect. She wore it with black tights and matching cream colored boots. She knew she would be wearing her jacket most of the time, but it didn't matter. This would be her first date with Sora in weeks and she wanted everything to go swell.

Sora had told her they would meet at the Shopping District for old time's sake. The two had always met at the front of large departments stores back then whenever they went out with friends since they thought it would be nice change in comparison to letting a chauffeur do all the work for you.

Her mother had wished her luck. Grabbing her purse, she went out the door to meet with her boyfriend.

* * *

The weather was much cooler than Naminé had anticipated. Adjusting her scarf close to her face, she wandered around town, telling her chauffer to drive off while she would look for Sora on her own.

No matter what time of year it was, residents of Twilight Town always had places to go and people to see. With Christmas around the corner, everyone from shopkeepers o the adults and teens were as busy as ever. Wandering around the bustling streets, she eventually found him. There Sora was, warm in his black wool winter coat, leaning against the wall of a building. Anyone could tell he was waiting for someone with his eyes searching steadily for a familiar face. His blue eyes soon met sapphire.

The moment Naminé and Sora spotted each other, they smiled—feet automatically moving, bringing them closer to one another. They didn't need words, fingers intertwined them moment the distance closed, and Naminé's smile seemed to grow brighter.

"So, where would you like to go first?" his charm seemed to be following him today.

Ahh…how she missed the days like these where she could just be with Sora and everything seemed to go accordingly; she was fine with anything really, but knowing the indecisive Sora, Naminé decided that maybe it was best to have lunch first. Even though it was cold the two decided to walk, her gloved hand within Sora's hand the entire way there.

They made their stop at the Usual Spot, a comfortingly familiar place to both of them. As they ordered their meals, Naminé reached into her bag and suddenly she felt something was missing.

"Oh, I forgot my wallet," the look of disappointment was written all over her face. While she may have remembered everything else, IDs, cell phone, keys, and whatever else, her wallet was no where to be found. She must have left it on her dresser where she always placed it every time she was home.

"Don't worry," Sora reassured, "I'll pay for the both of us."

"Thanks, Sora," Naminé was glad; it seemed her Sora was coming back to her.

Lunch was delightful. The two had caught up with one another with the lack of time they had spent. Sora was being so gracious today that Naminé felt like she was falling for him all over again.

Sora asked her and insisted they do whatever she wanted today. The two spent most of the day hanging out at the plaza window shopping despite having the means to pay for whatever they wanted. They talked about Christmas and what the other was doing for the holidays, especially with the new season coming around. Sora and Naminé were scanning through windows, potential gift ideas popping into their heads.

"Would you like to spend Christmas with my family this year?" Naminé asked. It would be nice, especially since it was only herself and her mother this year—Riku's family would of course be invited as well with their parents being friends and all.

"I'm sorry," Sora apologized, "I don't think I'll be able to make it."

"No, no. I understand. Everyone is busy with their family during the break," Naminé continued with a smile, "I'm just glad you made time for me today, Sora."

"Naminé…" Sora didn't know what to say, but Naminé couldn't help but feel her stomach tighten when she saw something else hidden behind his blue eyes. Was it, _remorse_? His smile soon erased that, "Do you want to walk to walk to the Square?"

"In this weather?" Naminé was already freezing in her boots.

"Why not?" Sora gave his irresistible lop-sided grin, "Or would you like to take the car instead?"

Naminé was hesitant at first, but the more she thought about it the more welcoming the idea seemed. Anything with Sora just seemed worth it, especially with the royal treatment he was giving her today, "Alright, let's go."

"That's the spirit!"

The two decided to stay warm inside shop before heading out to their destination. It would be a long walk and Sora did not want his girlfriend to freeze, especially since she had worn such a cute outfit for him that day. When they had decided to leave, the two walked in a comforting silence, hand in hand. The sun was already going down when they had reached the plaza, but now the town was cloaked by the veil of night when they had reached the main center of the town, also known as the Square. In the middle was a large ice-rink, where many came to skate with their other halves or loved ones. In the summer, it was a large center-piece of the town, but in the winter it was a form of entertainment to its residents.

All the streetlights lighting up one by one on the streets was wonderful, but when the snow began to gently fall to the earth everything seemed almost magical. Naminé just knew; everything was perfect.

Here she was reinventing her relationship with the boyfriend, and the night seemed to add to the romance that filled the air. Sora and Naminé watched the other couples passing them by as the made the rounds around the ice rink for a while before Sora turned to Naminé, letting go of her hand.

This gesture immediately grabbed her attention, and she looked back at him in confusion. His eyes looked like one of guilt, and Naminé's lips formed a frown.

"What's the matter, Sora?" she asked. Naminé wanted to reach for his hand again, but wasn't sure if it would help the situation. She could feel a heavy air pulling the apart despite only being less than a foot apart.

"I'm sorry, Naminé," his gaze fell to the snow covered ground.

Naminé could feel her eyebrows beginning to crease, had she done something wrong?

"Sora, today was great. There's nothing to apologize for."

"I don't think you'll be repeating that when I've said what I have to say."

Naminé stayed silent, but whatever was coming she knew in the back of her mind that bracing herself would not enough. Sora tucked his gloved hands within his pockets—not from the cold, but out of edginess. He was searching for the right words.

"Naminé, I think you deserve someone better than me," oh no…she knew what this was. It always seemed to happen to her.

"Are…are you breaking up with me?" she almost choked on the cliché words. Wasn't their date going so well?

"I don't deserve you, Naminé. You're too good for someone like me." Sora told—but she didn't know if she should have believed him with his eyes focused on anything but hers.

"Don't say that," Naminé was about to reach for his face to pull him close and make him understand that she was his, but his next words stopped her from moving at all.

"I've been seeing someone else…" there it was, out there on the table. Sora looked at her eyes only to see a mixture of confusion, shock but most of all _betrayal_.

It was Naminé's turn avert her gaze, her voice was low but still audible, "I knew it…"

"No set of words can erase what I did. I don't even think an apology will suffice," Sora said, knowing that defending himself would prove futile.

"No, it won't." Naminé agreed. Her limbs felt cold and numb, but it wasn't from the wintry weather.

For the sake of compensation for breaking her heart, Sora felt obligated to give her answers, "I thought you should know, the girl I met…don't blame her. She's a good person…it was my fault. I'm the one who made the choice to see her; she had nothing to do with it."

"Just…just don't, Sora," Naminé had difficultly structuring her words. Her voice was filled with hurt, "You're just rubbing it in my face." She was slowly taking steps back, anything to put distance between them. Naminé did not want to be in the presence of a liar.

"I'm sorry, Naminé. Truly, I-" Naminé cut him short. She didn't want pity from her a traitor. Naminé would not take another second of it.

"I get it, Sora. Somehow I just happened to come up short, didn't I?" this hurt was so similar to her mother.

"No, Naminé," Sora had just wanted so assure her, "You're good person. You'll find someone out there, I just…"

She shook her head, she didn't want to hear him speak anymore, "It's not okay, but…it wasn't like I was in love with you or anything. I just need some time; I just need to shake off the aftershock."

With that she turned around ready to leave. Sora reached for her hand but she slapped it off. She didn't even want him to touch her. Not after what he did.

"Naminé, at least let me drive you home," Sora had planned the day so well just to soften the blow, but no amount of compassion could take away what he did.

"No, I'll just find cab."

Sora took his hand back and so she left, walking away from his sight.

Naminé had to put all her energy in keeping a steady pace; not too fast or else she would run, but not too slow or else her knees would buckle and she knew she would collapse under her feet. She had to keep steady, let the numbness invade her soul, but it wouldn't stop the tears streaming down her face.

While it was true she was not in love with Sora, the break up just made everything_ real_.

Everything she had been trying to defend was just a hopeless dream. Naminé was convinced that Sora just needed sometime and Olette was wrong, but hearing it come out of his lips just pulled her back into reality.

She knew she was at fault for not loving him enough. It was probably the main reason to why he sought out another woman. Naminé was betrayed yet a second time and it did not help in mending her already shattered heart. All she did these past few months was try to help her relationship with Sora, but he would just continue to decline any of it. She would never deliberately try to entice anything that sparked between herself and Roxas. He was her friend now, and all she could do was just forget about her past mistakes with the blonde.

Naminé would not take back a liar though, not after what her father had done to her mother. She would never forgive men like these.

At a time like this, Naminé didn't want Riku to console her. He was never much help in situations like these. Of all the things she sought comfort in Riku for; it was not her love life. It didn't matter if he was her best friend, Naminé usually wanted to keep her greater dilemmas for herself, but right now she truly needed someone. Whether it was just arms to hold her close, or words of comfort.

Taking out her phone, she looked through her phone book with wide sapphire eyes blurred from tears and dialed a number. Naminé waited for the other phone to pick up.

* * *

**A/****N:** So who has she called? Find out next time~ If you enjoyed this chapter, please review!


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